A Different Reality
by Cybra
Summary: In an alternate universe and in the time of the Dark Masters saga, the Digidestined must save the Digital World from destruction. Note: Epilogue uploaded!
1. A Different Reality Prologue

A Different Reality Prologue  
  
by Cybra  
  
A/N: I need help on the name, I know. Anyway, this is an AU fic. Alternate Universe. I'm going to try using the Japanese names unless enough people tell me not to since I'm not really comfortable using them. I'm really not used to using their Japanese names. To confuse, interest, and bug the heck out of you, I'm going to let Taichi tell you the setting of my new story. Tell me if the idea stinks or not.  
  
Disclaimer: I KNOW there are people out there perched on the edges of their seats just waiting for me to say I owned the characters of Digimon. Guess what? You can fire all your lawyers because I don't own them!  
  
It's weird.  
  
This whole situation has become perfectly normal  
  
Here we are, 7 kids, lost in a whole different world than the one we were born in.  
  
Our enemies are everywhere, but we have friends, too.  
  
Our guardians, protectors, and companions.  
  
Our Digimon.  
  
But someone else is out there, too.  
  
Another kid, just like us, who lives here as well.  
  
We've only seen glimpses of him when he saves our butts when we're outmatched.  
  
Him and his Kabuterimon.  
  
Who is this kid?  
  
He has to be an ally since he's risked his and his partner's necks to help.  
  
So why doesn't he join up with us?  
  
Jyou thinks that we should try to approach this kid.  
  
Actually, this weird kid doesn't look any older than Takeru or Hikari based on his size so I don't feel threatened.  
  
However, I do have a bit of respect for him.  
  
His Kabuterimon is strong and strong-willed.  
  
We know that our traits rub off onto our Digimon.  
  
So is that what our mysterious aide is like?  
  
Or is he something different?  
  
Is he like Gennai, not quite human and not quite Digimon?  
  
Is he a Digimon or a human?  
  
He looks human, but how can we be sure?  
  
All I know is that he's saved Takeru, Yamato, and Sora when they had been separated from the group and were completely overwhelmed.  
  
All 3 of them reported seeing a figure off to the side watching the battle every time.  
  
Of course, I've seen him, too.  
  
I have a feeling that he's a friend, but why does he constantly disappear after he saves us?  
  
And, more importantly, who is this mysterious person?  



	2. A Different Reality Part 1

A Different Reality Part 1

by Cybra

A/N: Okay. I have decided…I'm going with the dub names and attacks. Sorry all you Japanese version fans. Anyway, this should be interesting…

Disclaimer: I didn't own Digimon before. What makes you think I own it this time?

My name is Yamato Ishida…but everybody calls me "Matt".

I'm a member of the group called the "Digidestined" who save the Digiworld and Earth even though we're only kids. We're the _only_ people who can save both worlds.

Scary, I know.

Well, we used to think we were the only humans here until a Kabuterimon showed up one day and saved us. Off to the side, I swear I saw a human. Or at least something that looked like one.

Maybe I'm just going nuts.

Anyway, we were walking down a trail in the forest, Tai and Agumon in the lead, when I heard a noise. I stopped for a moment and TK, my little brother, bumped into me with Patamon. Gabumon glanced back at me.

"Is something wrong, Matt?" he asked.

"I thought I heard something, Gabumon," I answered, feeling uncomfortable as everyone focused their eyes on me.

"What kind of something?" Joe asked nervously. He obviously didn't like how I'd worded what I had just said.

"I dunno. It was kinda like a 'crunch'."

Tai frowned while Mimi and Joe looked even more worried. The only permanent Champion in our group, Gatomon, pricked up her ears, listening. I think she wanted to hear the sound for herself. After a few moments, her tail twitched and her eyes narrowed.

"Something's comin' this way," she warned.

I moved closer to TK, wanting to make sure he'd be safe. I wasn't taking any chances. Strange sounds and strange things coming usually meant trouble.

Gabumon stood in front of me, ready to defend me in case of trouble. Our Digimon all waited patiently as whatever it was came closer. I could hear my heart pounding as the adrenaline coursed through my veins.

Tai used to think that soccer was the ultimate adrenaline rush, but living in the Digiworld beats that hands down.

A large, yet delicate, paw stepped out of the surrounding foliage. Gatomon narrowed her eyes even more as a black fox-like Digimon stepped out. This strange new Digimon just looked at her with narrowed golden eyes of her own.

"Gatomon," the Digimon greeted in a suave, masculine voice.

"Trikstamon," Gatomon replied coldly.

"Who is he, Gatomon?" Kari asked.

"Trikstamon is a fully evolved Digimon who used to work for Myotismon with me. He's incredibly cunning. You never know whose side he's on."

Trikstamon smiled a friendly smile at us. His bushy tail slowly swished back behind him. On his left foreleg was a gold charm that looked a lot like Gatomon's. Trikstamon's fur, while mostly black, also had several silver streaks in it. He pushed his forelegs off the ground and stood on his hind legs just like Gatomon does most of the time.

"A pleasure to finally meet up with the Digidestined," Trikstamon stated, shaking Tai's hand.

"Uh…right…" Tai muttered.

I didn't like this new Digimon one little bit. He was too…well…suave-sounding. His voice sounded a little stuck-up, but there was something under the voice. Something…well, something I can't describe in words. It's like when you sense that one of your friends is behind you or something. You can't really describe the feeling, but you know it's there.

I leaned forward to Tai.

"I don't like this guy," I whispered in his ear.

Tai gave a slight nod of the head, agreeing with me. That actually shocked me. Tai? Agreeing with _me?_ Okay. This world just got even _more_ bizarre.

"Why were you looking forward to meeting us?" Tai asked cautiously.

"I have information on another child in our Digital World. He obviously doesn't belong here."

Tai's brown eyes lit up. I imagine that my own blue eyes darkened. How did this Digimon know that we were looking for information on a child that even _Gennai_ hardly knew about?

You see, Gennai knows that there's someone else out there, but for some strange reason, he can't get in touch with this person. He knows only what we know about this kid, but he's working on it.

None of us likes to go into a situation without knowing a little bit about what we're going up against.

"What is it?" Tai asked.

However, Trikstamon held his paws over his stomach. "First off, I'd like something to eat. I'm starving! I've been looking for you Digidestined all day!"

Tai glanced at the rest of us. TK, Sora, and Mimi all nodded. Joe looked uncertain and just shrugged. Kari shook her head at the same time I did. That surprised me since Kari usually looks to find the good in Digimon. Something must really be wrong with this guy if Kari didn't want him around. I made a quick decision not to let Trikstamon out of my sight.

"Okay," Tai agreed. "You win."

"Fantastic!" He fell forward onto all fours. Gatomon was still giving him a powerful death glare, her own blue eyes reflecting the distrust that must've lurked in mine. "There's a cave nearby where we can rest for the night."

~~~~~

As we walked along, I saw a beetle-like Digimon flying above us. It actually looked like a lady bug…only the black spots were really some sort of spikes. They weren't super-pointy, but they were raised up a bit. Its large, unblinking green eyes looked down on us when it turned its head towards us. After a moment of watching it fly overhead, I looked down at Gabumon.

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to the bug.

Gabumon looked up and answered, "That's Tentomon. He's an intelligent Digimon with facts about many Digimon. His 'Super Shocker' can make quite a few Digimon decide not to eat him for breakfast. He's not a bad Digimon to have on your side when trouble's brewing."

"He's got a pretty pattern on his back," Kari commented, admiring the airborne Digimon.

The Tentomon either didn't hear her or didn't pay attention to her comment as he suddenly zipped away. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

__

'Hmm…Tentomon's a bug Digimon, but so's Kabuterimon…I wonder…'

"Hey, Gabumon? Who does Kabuterimon digivolve from?"

Gabumon shook his head. "I don't know every Digimon, Matt. Sorry."

"It's okay."

"Tentomon," Gatomon stated.

The two of us turned to the feline Digimon.

She repeated herself. "Kabuterimon digivolves from Tentomon."

Kari thought about this for a second before she beat me to saying, "Do you think maybe that Tentomon might be the one that digivolves into that Kabuterimon we always see?"

"Maybe," Gabumon murmured. "But then again, that Kabuterimon might be permanently that way, like Gatomon's permanently a Gatomon."

I merely nodded as we continued. After walking in silence for 5 whole minutes, we reached the cave that Trikstamon said he'd found. I noticed that Tai paused before going in. Good idea on his part…for once. He nodded to the rest of us to follow him as he and Agumon went inside.

I followed warily. I didn't like the feel of this place. I felt like we were being led into a trap or something. I narrowed my eyes as I scanned our surroundings.

The cave could be described as one thing: cozy. It wasn't too hot or too cold and the light was bright enough for us to see, but not too bright. Oh sure, the floor was hard, the boulders were impossible to move for more space, and there was a bit of an echo whenever you talked, but it was still kinda cozy. It was like this place had been designed especially for people to sleep in. It was like we'd been handed shelter on a silver platter.

One thing I learned about life in the Digiworld and our world:

Never trust a silver platter.

I frowned as TK and Patamon began racing about, having fun as they created echoes. My head pounded from the noise that was being amplified and repeated over and over again. I rubbed my left temple to try to stop a headache from forming. Needless to say, it wasn't working too well.

I sighed as I stepped back outside, much to Gabumon's surprise. He followed me back outside, loyal as ever. I sat down on a rock nearby.

"You okay, Matt?" Gabumon asked, worried.

"Yeah…I just have a headache." I stopped rubbing my temple. After a few minutes of silence, my head stopped pounding. I pulled out my harmonica and began to play the song I normally played for TK.

~~~~~

After playing with my eyes shut for a few minutes, I heard an unfamiliar voice murmur, "That's beautiful…"

I opened my eyes to see a Tentomon standing in front of me, listening to my music. Gabumon smiled at our visitor. Apparently, my harmonica playing had lured this Digimon to us. Hopefully, he wouldn't do anything to harm us. I stopped playing my harmonica, putting it back in my pocket.

The Tentomon bowed his head, "I'm sorry if I disturbed your playing, but I did enjoy your music. However, I have an important message for you."

I exchanged surprised looks with my digi-pal.

"What is it?" I asked.

I didn't think that those unblinking eyes could become any more serious, but they did become just that. He looked at me in the eye, those green eyes slightly giving me the creeps.

"Don't trust Trikstamon. Get your friends out of here immediately," he warned.

That said, the Tentomon took flight. The red beetle flew out of our line of sight, disappearing into the trees.

I raised an eyebrow as I turned my attention to Gabumon. "Well, what do you think of—"

I stopped myself. I had forgotten something. I had told myself not to take an eye off of Trikstamon, but I had! I listened intently and heard none of the sounds I'd heard before. TK's laughing, Mimi and Joe's complaining, Tai and Sora's talking…all of that was gone. Leaving silence behind.

Gabumon sensed something was wrong as well. He steeled himself for a fight. I reached for the Crest of Friendship around my neck to find that it was missing. Trouble.

"Gabumon, tell me you have my Crest."

"No, Matt. I don't have it."

"Oh, no."

"Looking for these?" Trikstamon asked, stepping into view.

Hanging from his right paw were 7 Crests and tags _plus_ 7 Digivices. He had all of them! I practically growled in anger. Now Gabumon had no way of digivolving to either Garurumon or Metal Garurumon.

"Blue Blaster!"

Trikstamon blew the attack aside with his tail. He then held up his left foreleg/arm and pulled it back. The charm glowed brilliantly.

"Charm Collar!"

He seemed to punch the air, the charm disconnecting itself from around Trikstamon's arm and attaching itself like a collar around Gabumon's neck. Gabumon struggled trying to remove it until electricity seemed to dance all around his neck. Gabumon fell to his knees, moaning in pain.

"Gabumon!" I cried in fear for my friend. I yelled towards the cave, "Guys! Get out here quickly!"

Trikstamon laughed. "I'm afraid that they're all tied up at the moment. All of their Digimon, especially that annoying Gatomon, have been taken care of. And guess what? You're next."

Another charm had formed around his left arm. He prepared to attack again when suddenly…

"Electro Shocker!"

The ball of electricity flew right by Gabumon and I, coming close enough to snap the collar off. The attack continued to fly forward until it met up with Trikstamon. The Digivices and Crests went flying as Trikstamon screamed in pain and fell to the ground.. I couldn't see exactly where they went.

"Catch!" an unfamiliar voice shouted to me.

I almost got hit in the head with my Digivice and Crest. I held up my glowing Digivice to Gabumon.

"Gabumon warp digivolve to…Metal Garurumon!"

Okay. I admit it. Metal Garurumon was a little extreme, but he'd tricked my friends and tried to hurt them. I _wasn't_ going to let him get away with that!

Trikstamon stood and gulped as he saw he now had two opponents to deal with. Kabuterimon, I knew it was the same one we'd seen before, swooped low with Metal Garurumon flying right beside him. Off to the side, I spotted a figure holding several objects in his hands. He was only a little taller than TK or Kari.

Trikstamon began to pull back his left paw to attack again, but he was too late.

"Electro Shocker!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

The ice froze up the creep and the ball of electricity blew him to pieces. He was reduced to nothing but bits of data within moments. I turned to the figure, but I noticed he'd vanished. I looked behind me to see that Kabuterimon had vanished as well. Metal Garurumon looked as confused as I was.

"He's got the others' Crests and Digivices!" he exclaimed. "I'll track him down!"

As I walked to where the mysterious boy had stood before, I saw 6 Crests and Digivices lying on the ground. I picked them up.

"He doesn't have them, Metal Garurumon. They're right here." I paused. "However, see if you can find that guy. I wanna thank him."

Metal Garurumon took off into the sky as I ran into the cave. The Digimon were getting to their feet, rubbing their necks. Obviously, they'd had the same treatment as Gabumon. Tai and the others were sitting on the ground, also rubbing their necks. That had to have hurt.

"TK!" I called to my little brother. "Are you okay?!"

"'M OK, Matt," TK replied, still rubbing his throat.

Tai stumbled to his feet. "Where's Trikstamon?"

"Gone. Metal Garurumon and Kabuterimon took care of him."

"And our Crests and Digivices?" Sora asked, worried.

I held them up for everyone to see. "Right here."

"What about that kid?" Kari asked, taking her Crest and Digivice.

"Metal Garurumon will probably find them…"

__

Thump! Metal Garurumon landed outside and de-digivolved into Gabumon. He shook his head at my questioning gaze.

"They're gone. I couldn't find them. They somehow covered their trail…"

I kicked a rock. I had really wanted to thank that kid. He'd managed to help save Gabumon, my friends, and I. Why did he always disappear like that before we got a good look at him?! He'd saved my butt once before when I was alone and hadn't given me a chance to thank him then…apparently he wanted to keep it that way.

"It's okay, Gabumon. Maybe next time," Tai reassured my faithful Digimon friend.

Wherever you are, our friend, thank you.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Yeah, I know. The parts will all be relatively short. That way, I can drag it out as long as possible! ;) Well, I'm not going to bug you to review. I have some dignity. J


	3. A Different Reality Part 2

A Different Reality Part 2

by Cybra
    
    A/N: Hmmm…Part 2 already…eat THAT, Kyra! ;P

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Digimon. If the new Digimon I created resemble or have the same as any living or dead Digimon by other writers or the owners of Digimon themselves, that's purely coincidental.

My name is Jyou Kiddo, but you can call me Joe.

I'm basically the nervous wreck of the group.

You know, the one who warns everybody to be extra careful.

Well, I'm a member of a group called the Digidestined, but I think Matt already gave you the summary of what we do.

We've been through a lot together:

We've saved File Island from Devimon;

Found the Crests and tags on the continent of Server to defeat Etemon;

Gone back to Japan to find the Seventh Child, Tai's sister Kari, and saved our world and the Digiworld from Myotismon.

However, we have one challenge left to face. At least, I _hope_ they're the last challenge we have to face:

The Dark Masters.

I'm scared to death of those four Mega Digimon.

Of course, who isn't?

Everyone in the Digiworld is afraid of them.

They warped this world and put most of it up on Spiral Mountain.

Well, there's one good thing that's happened so far:

Metal Seadramon has been defeated for good.

"Hey, Joe!" Gomamon shouted, interrupting me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked intelligently.

"If you're not careful, the others are going to leave without us!"

I hurried to catch up with the rest of the group. We were traveling through a never-ending forest that seemed to be going nowhere. I knew we were lost. There was no way we could've known where we were.

I was about to say this when Mimi said, "Let's rest a minute. My feet're tired and I'm hungry."

Tai hmmm'ed for a moment until Matt nodded in agreement with Mimi.

"Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired, too. Let's take a break. It's not like we're going anywhere, so what's the rush?" Matt stated.

"We're looking for Puppetmon, remember?!" Tai snapped.

__

'Oh, boy. Here it comes…' I thought.

"We're not going to beat _anyone_ if we don't stop and rest, Tai!"

I sighed. I knew it'd been too peaceful lately. I'd wondered when they'd start bickering again. Mimi sat down, taking the time to rest. A wise idea, but I had a job I to do. I walked up to the two fighting boys and stepped in between them before either one of them could begin trying to punch the other one.

"Cut it out, you two. Look, let's rest for a few minutes. Then, when everyone's ready, we'll continue on our way. Tai, Matt's right about us taking it easy. Matt, Tai's right about having to defeat Puppetmon. So will you two _please_ stop arguing?"

They looked at me, blinked, and nodded, turning away from each other. I sighed. Well, at least the road trip would be relatively quiet. I had lived up to my Crest of Reliability once more:

I was reliable enough to break up a fight between Matt and Tai.

~~~~~

I must've dozed off because I felt Gomamon nudge me. I woke up and saw TK looking at me funny.

"Hey, Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do Tai and Matt always have to fight?"

__

'Good question. Wish I had a real answer for you,' I thought, but what I said was, "They're both trying to look out for the group, but their ideas don't really match up. That's what I think, at least."

"Oh."

Patamon flew up behind him and touched him on the shoulder. TK turned around to see his friend's happy face.

"Tag! You're 'it', TK!"

"Hey!"

I smiled as TK began running around with Patamon. Kari looked a little surprised as TK tagged her, but quickly joined in the game. It wasn't really resting, they were just wearing each other out, but it was fun to watch. From the looks on their faces, it was fun for them, too.

While I was watching the two, Gomamon began talking my ear off about something that I wasn't paying attention to. He talked for a full five minutes before he realized that I wasn't listening. I tried not to show my amusement as his green eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath.

My amusement faded when he yelled, **"Hey, Joe! Listen up!"**

I winced at the pain of him yelling in my ear. Gomamon began laughing at my reaction. He hopped up onto my shoulders, "Climbing Mount Joe" he calls it, and looked over my head down into my face. My glasses slid down my nose and I shoved them back into place.

"Gomamon, I was thinking about something. Did you _have_ to shout in my ear?"

"Of course!"

He continued laughing maniacally while I silently plotted my revenge when someone else's maniacal laughter came from above. The entire group turned their attention immediately to the source.

At first glance, you'd most likely think, "It's a puppet!" You'd be half-right. He's a puppet all right…Puppet_mon_. The Lord of the Forests as some Digimon call him. I gulped. He was right above my head in the same tree I was sitting against.

"Well, well, well…what do I have here? 7 Digidestined and their Digimon to play with!" he laughed happily.

"Yeah, right, Puppetmon! Go find somebody else to play with!" Tai snapped.

Sora stood right next to Tai, agreeing with him with a nod.

"Oh, so you guys don't wanna play, huh?" he asked in a whiny sort of voice. "Too bad! Puppet Pummel!"

He brought his mallet forward and all sorts of little lights came out of it. Trust me. From what Gomamon told me, those things _hurt_. We ran all around, dodging the attacks, until our Digivices began to glow.

"Agumon warp digivolve to…Wargreymon!"

"Gabumon warp digivolve to…Metal Garurumon!"

"Gomamon digivolve to…Ikkakumon!"

"Palmon digivolve to…Togemon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to…Birdramon!"

"Patamon digivolve to…Angemon!"

"Lightning Claw!"

Gatomon leaped up towards Puppetmon and began her attack. Puppetmon easily swatted her aside, but she landed on her feet. Typical of a cat.

"Terra Force!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

Laughing, Puppetmon dodged. I felt angry, but continued dodging Puppetmon's own attacks.

"You Digidestined are fun to play with!" he taunted.

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"How's about a Needle Spray?!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Puppet Pummel!"

Puppetmon's attack took out all of our Digimon's. Ikkakumon tried ramming him with his horn, but the creepy little guy easily dodged out of the way. What we needed was more power…

"Electro Shocker!"

The sudden attack caught Puppetmon by surprise as he barely dodged out of the way. He turned around and shook his fist at Kabuterimon.

"Why do you _always _have to ruin my fun?! Puppet Pummel!"

Kabuterimon cried out in pain as the attack hit him in the leg. That's when he began to glow…

"Kabuterimon digivolve to…Megakabuterimon!"

I thought I was going to scream. He now looked like a gigantic cockroach! Mimi looked just as nauseated as I felt.

"Ew….he's _gross!_"

"Mimi! He's helping us out!" Sora told her.

"Well, he's still gross-looking!"

"Everybody digivolve while we have a chance!" Tai shouted.

"Ikkakumon digivolve to…Zudomon!"

"Birdramon digivolve to…Garudamon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to…Angewomon!"

"Togemon digivolve to…Lillymon!"

"Ha! You think all of you can defeat me?! I've got friends, you know!" Puppetmon shouted in defiance.

I raised an eyebrow. He didn't know when to quit…

"See you chumps later! Kiwimon, Garbagemon, take care of them!" Puppetmon ordered as he took off.

"Yes, Master Puppetmon," came the voice of a bird Digimon without wings.

The Garbagemon were disgusting little twerps in garbage cans that constantly threw sludge at us. Kiwimon ran quickly between attacks and constantly pounded us with his annoying-yet-powerful "Pummel Peck". Finally, Zudomon had had enough.

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

Kiwimon, too distracted by Garudamon, turned around just in time to see Zudomon's attack scatter him into bits of data. Meanwhile, Lillymon was having some fun taunting the Garbagemon.

"Over here, Ugly!" she taunted as she zipped around the battlefield.

I was vaguely reminded of how I asked Tai when we were facing Etemon, "Great. Why don't you call him 'Ugly', too?"

Megakabuterimon buzzed upward, not doing anything, as we continued to fight. He seemed to be…waiting…

__

'What's he up to?' I wondered.

"Everybody, out of the way!" Wargreymon shouted.

I quickly moved as he warmed up his attack.

"Terra Force!"

Needless to say, the Garbagemon were all now just stray pieces of data.

Tai shouted loudly, **"Woohoo!"**

"Why don't you just let Puppetmon know exactly where we are?" Matt muttered, but he looked happy for the win.

"Well, he knew where we were before," Tai remarked, still smiling. Apparently, not even Matt could ruin his good mood at the moment.

That was good. I didn't want to put up with any more arguing from those two.

That's when I remembered something. I looked around and spotted a figure disappearing into the forest. Our mysterious friend no doubt. I would've run after him, but it was too late. I turned my gaze upward to find out that Megakabuterimon had vanished from sight as well.

__

'I guess he was just waiting to see if we could handle it on our own…'

~~~~~

After the fight, we went back to what we had done many times before:

Walking, walking, and even more walking.

Loads of laughs.

Still, we'd managed to take out more of Puppetmon's forces which gave us a better chance at winning.

As we approached a new part of the forest, I saw Piximon flying in front of us.

"Hello!" he called.

"Hi!" we called back.

Kari tugged on Tai's sleeve. "Tai, who's that?"

"That's Piximon. He gave us some training a while back," Tai explained.

"That I did. Yep, yep, yep!" he agreed. "I think that all of you would like a nice place to rest, right?"

"Yeah!" Gomamon answered for the group.

"Well, follow me! When the Dark Masters warped the Digital World, my home was put right in the middle of this forest. Yep, yep!"

I couldn't help remembering of how annoying that "yep, yep" and "nope, nope" thing he does was. The little powder puff with wings led us deeper into the forest. Mimi was looking at the ground, crying. I walked up to her.

"Mimi?"

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about…Flowerfairimon…" Mimi answer, still crying.

My heart clenched. Flowerfairimon had been sent to find us by Piximon when we first went up against the Dark Masters. She'd died while holding off the four Mega Digimon. She had been a Mega herself, but four against one has always been nasty odds for anyone. She hadn't been able to escape.

Palmon looked up at Mimi.

"Don't worry, Mimi…when Primary Village is fixed up, she'll be back," she soothed, "along with all the other friends we've lost…"

Mimi wiped her hand across her eyes.

"You're right, Palmon. We'll see her again. I know it."

"That's the spirit!"

We've lost a lot of friends in our battle against the Dark Masters and other evil Digimon.

First, Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon were condemned by Myotismon. It was Wizardmon who left us next since he had been killed by Myotismon. Then Chuumon, Flowerfairimon, Whamon…all of them were leaving us one-by-one. I looked at the ground in front of me. We had lost several battles.

As if he had been reading my mind, Gomamon whispered in my ear, "We haven't lost the war."

I looked at him, surprised. He smiled.

"I can tell when you're upset, Joe. No matter how hard you try to hide it."

I smiled at my digi-pal. I remembered what TK had said once:

"It's gonna be OK."

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: humming "Kitto OK" sung by Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing Not bad for a Part 2! Let's see how far this will go!


	4. A Different Reality Part 3

A Different Reality Part 3

by Cybra
    
    A/N: Part 3 already…hmm…;P (you know who you are…) Disclaimer: I know I don't have to write these anymore, but I love doing it! I could be slipping plans for world domination under the government's nose! BWAHAHAHAHA!!! I don't own Digimon. Never have, never will.

Hi!

I'm Hikari Kamiya!

You can call me "Kari"!

You know the drill. I'm a member of the Digidestined. Yadda, yadda, yadda…

Sorry. I'm just the teeniest bit impatient today.

What I'm going to tell you is how I actually met up with our mysterious friend.

Yup! I've met him! Face-to-face!

I don't know his name, but I know what he looks like!

Anyway, it all started when we were in the middle of a battle with Skullgreymon.

That's right. You heard me correctly.

Tai, my big brother, almost completely froze up. I knew about his first encounter with Skullgreymon so I didn't say anything about my brave big brother freaking out over it.

"Kari, stay back!" Tai ordered me.

"But Gatomon needs help!" I argued, still heading towards the walking skeleton.

****

"Kari, get back here!" he practically roared.

I didn't listen to him, knowing that I was going to get in _major_ trouble later, but Gatomon needed my help! Skullgreymon had hit her with one of his attacks. She was down; there was no telling who wouldn't see her and squish her. I had to get my friend out of there!

I ran up to Gatomon. Her blue eyes were half-closed as she looked up at me. There were scrapes and cuts all over. She was bleeding in several places.

"Kari…get out of here…" she weakly told me.

"Not without you!"

Tai has told me that I'm incredibly stubborn…which I gleefully admit to. It makes him mad, but he doesn't usually say much about it.

I picked up my smaller friend when a large, bony claw grabbed me. I yelled in fear. Gatomon, helpless, only watched as Skullgreymon brought us closer to his mouth. I didn't think a walking skeleton could have bad breath…but the stench of this one's breath nearly knocked me out. I heard Tai yell my name, but I was too dazed to answer.

Something rammed into Skullgreymon's claw. He roared in pain and dropped me and Gatomon. I didn't even scream as I fell. Something purple flew underneath me and something else grabbed me. I heard someone shout orders to somebody else.

"Fly low over a section of forest! I'll take care of these two! You help these guys take out Skullgreymon!"

"Right!"

I vaguely recognized the second voice as the voice of Kabuterimon. The other voice was completely new. It didn't really matter. I was still a little dizzy and confused when we swooped low into a patch of forest. Whoever was holding onto me leaped out into space and landed on the ground, rolling in the dirt. Kabuterimon took off and went to help with the fight.

Whoever my rescuer was tried to take Gatomon out of my arms. I held onto her tighter, not wanting her to get hurt.

"Easy…I'm not going to hurt your friend…" a slightly cold -yet gentle- voice soothed.

For some odd reason, I trusted this voice and allowed him to take Gatomon. Finally, my head stopped swirling as Gatomon let out a small cry of pain. I whirled to see a boy tending to Gatomon's wounds. He wore an orange shirt, khaki shorts, green socks, lightning shoes, yellow gloves, and a backpack sat beside him with a computer and an attached satchel. His wild red hair stood out against the other bright colors. He was kinda pale and his dark eyes were completely focused on Gatomon.

That's when it hit me.

I was the only one to see what he really looked like.

That's when I spotted something on his backpack strap and something else around his neck:

A Crest and a Digivice.

He was a Digidestined just like us!

At the moment, his satchel was open as he pulled out something. It was some sort of jar filled with a sticky juice. Using a piece of cloth, he dipped it in the juice and wrapped it around over one of Gatomon's wounds. She hissed through her teeth, trying to control the pain.

"I need you to hold her so she doesn't struggle," he told me, his voice kind of cold in a way.

I knelt down and held Gatomon in my lap. Her eyes were closed as she winced at the pain. Even though the boy didn't smile or say anything, I felt that he was thanking me by the look in his eyes. Then, he turned his attention back to my little Digimon friend.

"Kabuterimon should be able to help your friends handle Skullgreymon," he stated.

I was silent for a moment before I said, "Thank you."

He jerked his head up, raising an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" he asked. His voice held no emotion at all.

"Thank you…for saving Gatomon and me. Not to mention everyone else at one time or another."

He worked in silence for a few moments before he said, "You don't thank someone who is supposed to aid you."

Kind of a cold statement from somebody. He was only a little taller than I was, probably a little older as well, but he didn't act like somebody about my age. I guess that's what pressed me to ask my next question.

"Why don't you accept my thanks? I'm sure the others feel the same way."

He paused, uncertain on how he was supposed to answer. I waited.

"All right then. You're welcome."

I smiled at him, but he didn't return it. Gatomon stopped struggling in my grip as he finished up. She re-opened her pretty blue eyes and looked at our savior.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome…"

He obviously didn't want to go through that last bit of conversation again!

Gatomon stood up on her hind legs and put a paw on his shoulder. He'd rolled up his sleeves in order to reach out and grab us without getting the sleeves caught on something…at least, that's what I thought. He winced as Gatomon's paw touched his upper arm. She pulled back her paw and the boy tried to cover it up with his sleeve, but I was too quick.

"You hurt yourself while saving us!" I realized, pulling up his shirt sleeve once more.

It was a nasty scrape. It must've hurt badly. I also saw a scar up near his shoulder, like an animal had scratched him. I reached down and picked up a piece of cloth; then dipped it in the juice just like he'd done.

He stopped my hand in midair.

"It's all right. I've had worse."

I shook my head. "No, it's not all right. You got that saving me and I'm going to help."

He sighed, obviously seeing my stubborn streak, and relented as I carefully wiped the juice across the cut. He gritted his teeth at the pain and hissed through his teeth, but didn't make a sound other than that. Gatomon went to go see if our friends were coming any time soon. I quickly realized that the cloth was now too dirty to cover the wound with. The scrape had had dirt and leaves in it.

I rummaged around his backpack, hoping to find another cloth for a bandage.

"It's fine…"

"No, Joe told me that stuff like that'll get infected if you don't cover it. He told all of us about it…Don't you have any other strips of cloth?"

Sighing, the boy reached into his satchel and pulled out a few strips. I chose the longest one and tightly wrapped it around his arm, noticing that he was wincing at the pain. He quickly slipped down his sleeve when I was finished.

He sat next to me for a moment in silence before he said, "Thank you…"

"You're welcome!"

He looked at me curiously.

"I never did learn your name. Or your friends' names for that matter. I know the Digimon's names, but not any of yours."

"Oh! My name's Kari! Well, it's actually Hikari Kamiya, but my nickname's 'Kari'…"

I told him who each of us was, our personalities, and stuff like that. He asked me what each of our full names were as well, but I didn't understand why. For some bizarre reason, he insisted on calling me "Hikari" instead of just "Kari". I figured that he must feel awkward using nicknames.

"So, the other 6 came here from summer camp, then went back to find you…Then all 7 of you came back to fight the Dark Masters?"

I nodded.

"That's the story."

He didn't say anything, lost in his thoughts. That's when I realized something.

"Piximon!"

"What?"

"Piximon! He was leading us to his house! I hope nothing happened to him…"

I thought I saw a faint smile on his lips, but it disappeared before I could be sure.

"Piximon got ahead of you all. He probably just realized that your group wasn't behind him."

"Oh…well, that's good."

We sat in silence before I heard Tai's distant voice shouting, "Kari!"

"Tai!" I shouted back. "Over here!"

I saw Gatomon appear first with Tai and Agumon behind her. Matt, TK, Gabumon, and Patamon were next; followed closely by Joe and Gomamon. Mimi, Sora, Palmon, and Biyomon were right behind Joe.

"Guys, this is the boy who saved us all those—"

I stopped as I turned around. He was gone. He'd also kept me distracted from getting his name. My heart sank. That's when I saw something on the ground.

The handwriting wasn't great since it'd obviously been done in a hurry, but there was a little note on the ground:

Hikari -

Sorry I left without saying goodbye.

I know you can save this world.

- K.I.

AKA "Light Child"

__

'He believes I can do it…' I thought happily. Then I blushed at my own thoughts.

TK leaned over my shoulder and saw the letter on the ground.

"Is his name really 'Light Child'?" he asked me.

"I dunno," I answered, shrugging. "He never told me his name, but he knows ours."

"Maybe it's some sort of code…" Matt muttered.

"Yeah, maybe," Tai said sarcastically.

That's when Gennai finally contacted us again.

"Hello, kids!"

"Hi!" we replied.

"Got any news for us?" Tai asked.

"Yes. The Dark Masters are now taking all of you very seriously…except Puppetmon, of course. Also, I've heard that your friend happens to be a large annoyance to the Dark Masters."

I quickly asked, "Gennai, what Crest has a symbol with 5 circles, 2 inside one circle and 1 inside another, that's connected by a beam?"

Gennai thought for a moment. "The Crest of Knowledge. Why do you ask?"

"That kid that helps us has it. He also has a Digivice."

Tai gave me a look of disbelief.

"He's a _Digidestined?!_" he asked.

"How many of us are there?" Sora wondered.

"I dunno, but I had been hoping if there were more, they'd be girls," Mimi commented.

"Hmmm…well, I suppose that answers Matt's question," Gennai said.

We all turned to Matt. He blushed in embarrassment.

"When I got my Crest, I noticed that there was a hole in the well where I found it. Like a brick or something had been removed," he explained.

"My theory is that the Crest of Knowledge was kept in that same well. Your friend managed to find his Crest before Matt found his," Gennai told us.

"Cool! Then he really _is_ one of us!" TK exclaimed.

I admit that I wasn't really listening to Gennai or the conversation anymore at this point. I was looking up and watching a Tentomon hover near a patch of berries, enjoying their taste. However, I thought I saw something crouched behind him. Maybe a person…

I shook my head slightly. Gatomon looked up at me, wondering if she'd gone crazy.

I'm guessing that both of us thought we heard someone say, "You can do it."

~~~~~

I walked away from the group for a few minutes. I had given the excuse to Tai that I was going to use the bush so he wouldn't follow me. I looked around, but nobody was there.

Deciding it wouldn't hurt, and he might be listening, I whispered, "If you're ever in trouble…I guess I'll use 'Light Child'…just come to us. I'll help you."

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Does anyone else think that it's bizarre that both Kari and Izzy's Japanese names have something to do with light? I mean, the translation of "Hikari" is "light" and the translation of "Koushiro" is "light child". I originally though "Koushiro" meant something like "knowledge" or something like that. Hmmm…Conspiracy!


	5. A Different Reality Part 4

A Different Reality Part 4

by Cybra
    
    A/N: Woohoo! Part 4! Yippee! :::begins running from men in white coats::: You'll never catch me!!! :::runs back::: If this POV seems dark to you and a little out of character, there's a good reason for it. It's called an "Alternate Universe". Things and people are bound to be different. Like Kari's POV had been a little different than you would've normally thought.

Disclaimer: I intend to take over the world by…oh. Sorry. Ahem, I don't own Digimon. That's all you need to know. Now, my plan to take over the world, you do not need to know.

I hate my life. I really do.

For the past 16 digi-years, I thought that I'd never have to see another human being again.

Except for the one in my reflection, that is.

However, even Tentomon has been thinking of me as a Digimon over these long years…Even though I have none of the attributes that Digimon have.

That's when I received news that left me feeling empty and alone all over again:

There were more humans in the Digiworld.

I had hoped I'd escaped them. I thought I'd finally be left alone, left in peace…

Left to forget.

Remembering my old life is too painful. I can't stand it.

Therefore, I sidestep all questions about my past, no matter _who_ puts them forward to me.

I've never really felt alone in the Digiworld. I've always had Tentomon beside me. Together we fight evil Digimon while I discover more and more about this fascinating place.

Now, it looks like my peace of mind is about to be shattered again.

I suppose I should introduce myself.

I'm Koushiro Izumi. Digidestined, keeper of the Crest of Knowledge…and Fate's toy.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

I hate my life.

"Koushiro?" Tentomon asked, breaking me away from my thoughts. His large green eyes show off his worry for me.

I give him a smile. It's not done with my lips actually, but with my eyes.

Nobody's seen me smile with my lips for over three Earth-years.

No. Don't think of Earth. Earth was pain.

Yet…I fight to save it.

The Digiworld and Earth are connected. If something happens to one world, the other world suffers. So when I fight to save the Digiworld, I'm fighting for Earth as well.

I briefly wondered if anybody had noticed I'd disappeared off my home world. Most likely not. Nobody there had cared if I had lived or died.

Tentomon began waving for my full attention. I'd let my mind wander again.

"Sorry, Tento. You were saying something?" I asked.

I call Tentomon "Tento" sometimes since it's faster. While he has a nickname, I don't. I really don't care either.

"The group will be moving into this area soon. What do you suggest we do?"

I gave the answer immediately.

"Hang back in the shadows. Maybe try to stay ahead of them."

Tentomon sighed and gave me a look. "Koushiro, why don't we join up with them? They're on our side."

I shake my head. "No, Tentomon. At least, not yet."

"All right…"

I knew that Tentomon knew something had happened to me back before I came to the Digiworld, but I would never discuss it with him. It was too private and too painful.

I didn't want to burden him with my pain.

~~~~~

The group had decided to stop and rest nearby a lake in the forest. Piximon was buzzing around and grilling all the Digimon on how to attack an enemy and defend themselves and their partners from an enemy. I rolled my eyes. They'd be gone in a few minutes.

I turned my attention to each of the Digidestined children below me as I crouched in a tree above. I knew which Digidestined had which Digimon for a partner. I saw Taichi Kamiya, the leader, standing off to the side with Yamato Ishida. Agumon and Gabumon were standing next to their respective partners. Takeru Takaishi, Yamato's little brother, was chasing Patamon. Mimi Tachikawa was talking with Palmon, Sora Takenouchi, and Biyomon. Jyou Kiddo was walking up to Taichi and Yamato with Gomamon. They were probably going to discuss how to attack Puppetmon.

How did I know their names? Easy. I had learned them from Hikari Kamiya, Taichi's little sister. I had saved her and her partner Gatomon from Skullgreymon. She was the only one who had seen me up close.

I still wonder if I should've done that.

Maybe I would've been better off if I hadn't shown her what I looked like.

Then again, maybe it wouldn't have been.

I could've just left her for Skullgreymon.

Nah. Better to have let her see me than to let her die.

Wasted lives lead to the downfall of either side in a war.

This whole situation was exactly that:

A war.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts when Tentomon poked me. I watched the Digidestined as they talked, played, and just sat around. That's when I realized something.

Hikari was looking at me.

Not in my direction.

She was looking right _at_ me.

I moved backwards, further into the shadows. I wanted to get away from her knowing gaze. It scared me. She scared me.

Heck. _I_ scare me.

I shook my head slightly to clear it. Tentomon landed silently beside me. Stealth had become something we were both good at. I was tempted to open up my laptop and work to pass the time, but didn't dare. Someone might see the glow of the laptop screen.

Hikari walked over to her older brother. She waited patiently for Taichi, Jyou, and Yamato to stop talking before she spoke.

"Tai, I'm going to use the girls' bush," she stated.

"Okay, but don't take too long."

Hikari nodded and began walking my way. I slowly moved backwards to keep her in front of me. She kept walking until she finally stopped. I froze, not even breathing. I didn't want to give away my position.

"I know you're here, Light Child."

Mentally, I cursed myself for the 5th time for writing that stupid note. I'd given away the translation of my name in order to confuse them, but apparently had intrigued Hikari.

__

'Please don't look my way…' I pleaded in my mind.

"Why don't you come out? I'm not going to hurt you. You know that."

I touched the bandage that she'd put on my arm. She had wrapped my wound even though I had protested against it. A stubborn little girl, that one is.

Hikari sat down on a log, waiting patiently for my answer. Tentomon nudged me.

"Go down there…" he hissed into my ear.

Sighing, I jumped down out of the tree. Hikari looked only slightly surprised at my sudden appearance, but forced herself to look calm again. She smiled.

"Hi!" she cheerfully greeted me.

My face remained impassive as I nodded to her. "Hello, Hikari."

I know my voice sounds cold all of the time, but I really can't help it. It's a defense that I picked up on Earth. If you acted cold to other people, they left you alone. But for some odd reason, Hikari didn't seem at all fazed by my cold tone of voice. She merely smiled even more and touched the spot beside her, urging me to sit next to her.

As if I was watching from a distance, I walked over and sat down next to her.

Half of my mind screamed at me, _'What do you think you're doing?! Hikari is a _human!_'_

'So am I,' the other half retorted.

__

'You can't trust them. You can't trust her._'_

'Why not?'

'She's one of them._ She's got the life that you always _wanted _to have.'_

'True…but maybe she's not like everyone else.'

'Stop fooling yourself! Don't you remember what happened on Earth?!'

I forced down a shudder as memories of my life on Earth waterlogged my thoughts. I was frustrated with myself for thinking that I could possibly have found someone other than Tentomon that I could actually trust. I also realized that I had been carrying on a conversation with Hikari while I'd been thinking.

"So, you think that Digiworld is inside some sort of computer?" my unexpected companion asked me.

I nodded. "Yes. There is enough evidence all around this world that supports this statement. The mysterious writing is actually computer code."

Hikari nodded. It was obvious that she didn't get all the computer terms, but her eyes showed me that she got the main idea of my theory. I vaguely noted that it was a lot like talking to Tentomon. Fascinating…

I vaguely remembered how we'd gotten onto that subject. She'd asked me about my health and I'd done the same to be polite. Then, she'd asked me if I'd learned anything about the Digiworld while I was here. That's when I'd told her about my theory that the Digiworld was actually made from data.

Was she baiting a trap? I didn't know. However, Tentomon would always signal me if something went wrong. I sat and listened to her as she talked about her Digimon friend Gatomon. For some odd reason, that compelled me to pull out my laptop.

"What're you doing?" Hikari asked, genuinely interested.

"I'm calling up my Digimon Analyzer program."

"What's that?"

__

'She actually wants_ to know about something I've done?'_ I wondered in shock, but I didn't say it out loud.

What I said was, "It's a program for identifying different Digimon. I have well over 100 different species of Digimon recorded."

"Any of ours in there?"

I nodded. I called up a screen with a picture of Gatomon. Digital cameras are wonderful things. Gatomon's statistics popped up as well. Hikari smiled, recognizing the feline Digimon instantly.

"That's a really good picture of her! Did you take it?"

I nodded again, this time a little wary. Was I showing her too much? Telling too much about myself? I had only told her about my theory and my program, but nothing personal about _me_. However, I could tell that Hikari was intelligent. She'd most likely figured out that I liked working with computers and loved to discover things. Curiosity was one of the emotions I could never get rid of.

No matter how hard I tried.

I turned my attention to the screen as she pointed at something.

"I thought that Gatomon was a Vaccine type."

My eyes grew slightly wide as I realized my mistake. That and she was actually reading over my data. I'd accidentally typed in "Virus" instead of "Vaccine". The reason was that I had been working late that night. However, this was still no excuse.

A few quick keystrokes and the problem was fixed. I gave her a slight smile with my eyes…despite the fact that I didn't want to smile _at all._

"Thank you."

She smiled brilliantly. "You're welcome!"

"Kari!" Taichi yelled to his sister.

Tentomon began beating his wing against a bunch of leaves. The sound is really quite irritating…which made it a good sound to have when people approach. I shut down my computer, put it in my backpack, and tensed up, ready to bolt out of sight. A hand gripped onto my wrist.

"No! Don't go yet! Come with us!" she pleaded.

I tugged at her hand, trying to get her to let go.

"At least tell me your name!"

"Maybe some other time," I answered coldly.

At the same time, I heard the noise Tentomon was making getting louder. The group was getting closer.

"Please…?" Hikari pleaded.

"Hikari, let go," I ordered sternly. I didn't have time for this!

Much to my surprise…she let go! I raced out of sight as I saw Taichi's shape begin to come out of the bushes. I barely made it to safety before he ran up to his sister.

"Where were you? I was getting worried!" he asked.

"I was fine, Tai. I was talking to a friend."

Gatomon's ears pricked up. She must've heard me breathing, but didn't say anything. I willed my breathing quieter, slowing down my intake of oxygen. I froze, not making a sound.

If Gatomon still heard me, she made no reaction.

However, I think she still heard me.

I left them as the group began to walk away, positive that the sounds of their talking and footsteps would cover up any misstep I could make.

~~~~~

Tentomon stared at me over the fire between us. I stared right back. He never had to say "You need to be with them" and I never had to say "No, I don't", but it was like we had. The two of us were arguing without speaking a word. Both our wills were doing the arguing for us.

Finally, Tentomon began to speak his argument aloud, "Koushiro, I respect you and I'd do anything for you. Right off, I'd like to say that."

After swallowing the bite of the chili mixture I'd cooked up, I answered, "Thank you, Tentomon. I respect you as well. You're the best friend anyone could have. I definitely don't deserve you."

I could tell he was blushing. I'd hoped that would do the trick…especially since it was true. Still, he quickly recovered.

"And I'd like to point out that you're a human. You need to be with other humans. I'm so used to thinking of you as a Digimon that I kept seeing the differences between you and those other humans when there shouldn't be any!"

I set down my make-shift bowl as Tentomon took a bite out of his dinner. "Tento, humans are diverse in many different ways. This is totally natural."

"Not in the way you hide from them. You actually run whenever one of them gets too close…except for Kari, of course."

While I call her "Hikari", Tentomon had picked up on calling her by her nickname. He did the same with the others if they had nicknames. I sighed.

__

'Here we go again…'

He leaned closer to me, staying just out of the fire. "Koushiro…I'm starting to think that you're attracted to her."

I blew a bit of fiery red hair out of my face. "Attracted to _that_ girl? Me? I think you're having a short-circuit, Tentomon."

"Then explain to me why you only let _her_ meet you in person."

Touché. And other French words to that effect. However, Tentomon would have to be ready for my response.

"Tentomon, you and I swooped in and saved her life. It seems logical that she would've seen me. There was no way that you could've grabbed her and Gatomon from Skullgreymon on your own. You needed an extra set of hands. Besides, Gatomon had been hurt. There was no way that you could've fought Skullgreymon _and_ taken care of Gatomon at the same time."

My cold logic won out. Tentomon merely grumbled before he continued eating.

We'd had this conversation many times before, but Hikari hadn't been a factor before. If I was correct, he'd bring up the subject of us joining the group of humans and Digimon again right about…

Now.

"Still…I think we should join them," Tentomon informed me, pausing to swallow in the middle of his sentence. "There's safety in numbers, Koushiro, and don't give me that lecture about us being able to take care of ourselves. I seem to remember a pair of Monochromon last week that would've been delighted to rip your head off; not to mention mine. We've been lucky so far, but now that there are others, we can increase our chances of survival." His green eyes, once hard, softened. "Koushiro…I don't want you dead."

__

'If I'd stayed on Earth, nobody would've given a second thought about whether I was living or dead,' I thought, admiring my best friend's loyalty.

I'm still getting used to the idea of someone being loyal to _me_. Not visa versa…when I was always being used as a doormat. Yeah, I'm pretty loyal…but only to those I trust. I'd been stepped on and used so many times from being loyal over the past 3 Earth-years.

No! I won't think about Earth! Not again!

"I won't die, Tento. Not yet anyway. I don't want you to die either. Still, I don't think we should join up with them." I smiled…with my eyes, naturally. "Besides, I'm not dying."

Tentomon's eyes turned sad. "That's where you're wrong, Koushiro. You may not be physically dying, but you're dying in a whole different way."

I swallowed. Hard. He'd seen pain that I'd been so sure was hidden.

"That's another reason why I want to have us join up with the group," he insisted. "I don't like to see you like this. They might be able to help with whatever it is that's bothering you."

My smile left my eyes. Carefully keeping my face expressionless, I stated, "Nothing is bothering me, Tentomon. Now, I think we should get some sleep."

I quickly polished off my chili as Tentomon curled up. I slept close to the campfire, slightly shivering. It wasn't the cold, I was used to that. It was something else…

I checked to see if Tentomon was asleep before I pulled it out. A beautiful gold necklace. It reminded me of the one thing in my life that hadn't been painful:

My parents.

The necklace was actually a locket. The heart charm held a picture of me from 4 Earth-years ago…much to my total distaste. I'd always wished that Mom had kept a picture of her and Dad in there. Especially whenever I saw the look on my 6 year-old face.

The picture, a younger version of me, was smiling.

The smile practically split my former self's face in half. It also seemed to say "I know more than you think I do". That picture had been taken a year before the smile left my face.

I closed up the heart locket and put it back inside my shirt. As I fell asleep, tears streamed from my eyes.

There are times when I _can't _stop thinking of Earth…

And those are the times I can hardly keep myself crying in front of Tentomon…but I can't stop when I'm alone…

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: A little longer than my usual parts and there wasn't any sort of attack. I thought I'd tease you with a look from Koushiro's POV. J Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Gratitude goes too…

Her Royal Weirdness: Who encouraged me to write this…and introduced me to Hishiro and Taishiro. Not to mention a little Yamashiro.

Kyra: Who did the same…except for the different couples. BTW, Kyra, you'll never get ahead of me!!! My parts may be short, but I work my hardest to make them sound good!!! Not that you don't…

My muse, Izzy: I'd be completely and utterly lost without you. 

Shameless promos…

"Kyra's Fanfic Archive": A truly _fabulous_ site for fanfic writers! :::turns to Kyra::: Where's my twenty? J

"World Under Ours": Ah! The joys of posting webpages, eh, HRW? :P Excellent site with a few couple shrines.

"All That is Ishida": For posting several of my stories there! _Big_ fanfic archive. As in _huge_.


	6. A Different Reality Part 5

A Different Reality Part 5

by Cybra

A/N: Oh boy. I'm not really good at either Mimi or Sora's POV's. I can't really get into their minds. For one thing, Sora's my very _least_ favorite character. :::is being shot at by Sora fans. Hides under a digi-rock::: For another thing, I'm scared to venture into Mimi's mind. Oh well. I'll give it my best shot on Mimi!

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, Digimon wasn't mine. Thank you.

My name is Mimi Tachikawa!

I'm just your average 10 year-old who got sucked into the Digital World and turns out to be a member of the only group that can save it and Earth.

You probably know my Digimon friend Palmon, she's the best!

Well anyway, I guess I should tell you what happened.

Too bad we aren't at the mall or something! I'd love to get hot cocoas that we could talk over! That's always a nice way to share a story.

I'm babbling, aren't I? I'm sorry. Joe's trying to help me get rid of that habit. He really is a nice guy. In fact, _all_ the guys are! Not to mention Sora and Kari!

Oops! There I go again! Sorry about that.

Anyway, we'd finally arrived at Piximon's training camp. A few of the Digimon there watched as we entered like we were movie stars or something. A black fox-like Digimon with silver streaks in his fur stepped out on his hind legs.

I instantly cried out, "Guys! Trikstamon's back!"

The Digimon quickly got in front of us, ready for an attack. Piximon smiled at our reaction as we tensed up for a fight.

"Well done! It appears you _have_ learned to defend yourselves in the Digiworld from the last time I saw you! Yup yup! After you left, I was getting worried!" Piximon cheerfully told us.

I suddenly realized my mistake as the fox Digimon changed color while laughing. He turned from black to the most _gorgeous_ color of teal within seconds! I blushed as I also noticed that the gold charm that had been on Trikstamon's left paw was on the _right_ paw. Besides, he was slightly smaller than Trikstamon had been. The two Digimon might've been similar, but they were completely different.

"I'm sorry, sir…I didn't mean to…"

"It's all right. Piximon told me to do this as a test. You guys passed with flying colors," he answered, laughing. He changed from teal to a light and happy blue.

"Who _are_ you anyway?" Tai asked, stepping forward.

Piximon smiled as he said, "This is Focsulamon! He's a crafty Rookie Digimon that can change colors depending on his mood or his choice. Be warned, his 'Pepper Ball' will give you heart burn!" Piximon turned towards Focsulamon as he said, "You passed your test with flying colors as well! I wanted to see if you'd finally gained control of your color-changing ability!"

Focsulamon's colored turned to a rose pink, a cute-looking color on him if you ask me. "Well, I've been practicing…"

Piximon cut him off as he yelled to the rest of the Digimon, "What're all of you just standing around for?! Get back to your training!"

The other Digimon quickly went back to their training without so much as a grumble. I wonder if any of _them_ had gotten to clean the floors yet…

The food was terrific! I'd never tasted something quite as good! At least, in the Digiworld. Usually we have to eat leaves, berries, and whatever else we can find or catch. I have bad memories of accidentally eating under-cooked fish. Talk about gross!

I'm babbling again! Sorry about that!

Anyway, the 7 of us were shown to a room with actual beds this time! No sleeping on the floor! I chose the bed in between Kari and Sora's beds. Palmon bounced on the bed once as I sat down. That's when I noticed that I was about one bed away from a set of large doors.

What did I do about the doors? I went over and opened them, of course! It lead to a balcony made out of wood. Kari had followed me out, obviously thinking about something. I smiled at her.

"Isn't this great?! Best part is, we don't have to scrub all those floors again!" I yelled happily.

Kari turned and smiled, nodding her head, but didn't quite understand. She hadn't been there when we'd gone through that torture.

"Don't give Piximon ideas," Joe grumbled, but I could tell he didn't really mean it. He came out and stood beside me.

I laughed and turned my eyes to look out over the forest around us. It didn't seem to _end! _It was like one of those "Going Out of Business" sales! The ones that go on forever!

I saw a tree suddenly topple and fall about…uh…I dunno…far away from us. Well, it wasn't really _far,_ but it wasn't right next to us either. 

"Huh?" I asked, leaning over the railing, trying to get a better view.

"Mimi, be careful!" Palmon shouted as she grabbed me. I'd almost slipped over the railing.

"Thanks, Palmon."

Tai came out onto the balcony and used his little telescope thingy to look where the tree had fallen. I could hear the sounds of a fight. I didn't need anybody to tell me that that meant trouble.

That's when two Kabuterimon came flying out of the forest. One of them, the one trying to escape, looked hurt. The other one wore a black collar around his neck. I gasped. The collar was exactly like the one worn by the evil Greymon that time in the Coliseum!

The other Kabuterimon had a small orange spot on his back, like he was carrying a passenger or something. Kari gasped and immediately began to run back inside. Tai stopped watching the fight and went after his little sister. I quickly forgot about the orange spot as Joe and I followed them.

"Kari! What is it?!" Tai asked, grabbing Kari.

"That's him! On the back of that Kabuterimon! I'll bet he's hurt! Tai, you have to let me go help him!" Kari shouted, struggling to get out of his grip.

Matt came up to us. "Tai, he's saved our lives on several occasions. It looks like it's _our_ turn."

Tai thought about that for a moment before he nodded. We all ran outside and out of the training ground. As we approached the battle, we saw the evil Kabuterimon let loose an attack on the good one.

"Electro Shocker!"

Kabuterimon was thrown head over heels, sending the orange spot flying. The orange spot landed hard on the ground. Nobody saw this except for Kari and I. I froze, not knowing _what_ to do, but Kari ran over to the orange spot with Gatomon.

At the same time, she was yelling, "Light Child!"

You're probably wondering why she'd shouted that. Well, she got a note from this guy who signed only as "K.I." and "Light Child". That's why. Sounds romantically mysterious!!!

Anyway, back to the battle. Agumon quickly digivolved to Greymon and fired a Nova Blast at the evil Kabuterimon. Palmon digivolved to Togemon in order to give him a hand. The good Kabuterimon landed between us and Kari. Tai tensed up, but Joe stopped him from running over to Kari right away. One last Nova Blast and a Needle Spray convinced the evil Kabuterimon to fly away. The good Kabuterimon picked up something in one of his claws and took off.

"Thanks!" the oversized bug shouted to us.

"Hey wait!" Tai shouted, running towards where Kabuterimon had taken off, but was too late as the bug flew away.

I couldn't help but think, _'I _hate_ bugs!'_

Tai ran over to Kari to see if she was all right. TK tugged at Matt's hand.

"Matt, why'd he leave like that?"

"I dunno, TK. But he must've had _some_ reason."

Tai came back with Kari, still chewing her out, but she didn't seem to be paying attention. She stuffed something into her pocket before anybody else noticed it. It was pretty…and it might've been a necklace! Ooh! Sparks fly!

That night, I tossed and turned before I opened my eyes and sat up. I shivered at the cold wind blowing in from my right. That's when I realized that the doors were open a little bit. I glanced over at the others until I noticed that Kari's bed was empty. She had chosen to sleep the closest to those doors. I wonder why…

I went over to the doors when I heard two voices. One of them I recognized.

"I was worried that you were hurt," Kari told somebody.

A cold voice answered, "I'm all right. Just twisted my ankle. Kabuterimon will be fine in a few days, but we can't afford to fight anyone anytime soon."

__

'This must be "Light Child"!' I thought.

"I'm glad that you and Kabuterimon are okay. The two of you should really join up with us."

The other person sighed. "Hikari, I've said this once and I'll say it again. Maybe we'll join up with you all someday, but not now."

Kari was silent for a moment when she suddenly said, "You dropped this. I wanted to return it to you." She paused. "Is that your picture inside it?"

"Yes," the voice said again, but it sounded slightly choked this time.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to…"

"No…it's all right. Look. You keep the locket."

"What? Why?"

"Knowing me, I'll probably lose it again. I want you to keep it safe. Please, Hikari? It's important to me."

"All right."

I peeked out to see two shadowy shapes standing near the end of the balcony next to a tree that had grown up nearby. I saw the taller of the two shapes, but it was only _slightly_ taller, stiffen slightly as the smaller one hugged it. I could tell that the smaller one was Kari. The other guy must've been our mysterious friend Light Child.

"Will I see you again sometime?" Kari asked.

Light Child paused before he answered in that cold tone of voice, "Most likely."

He pulled himself out of Kari's killer grip and climbed onto the balcony. With a slight jump, he landed in the tree and began climbing down. I thought I heard a hiss of pain, but neither said anything as he disappeared into the night.

__

'How romantic!'

I slid back into bed and pretended to be asleep. A few minutes later, Kari came back inside and went to bed as well. I smiled to myself as I closed my eyes and went back to bed.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Shorter than normal, but for a good reason. I'm afraid that if I add more, I'll ruin it. sigh I hope I don't screw up on Sora's POV. Expect that one to be short as well. Not to mention TK's. Maybe I should skip him…hmm…:::TK fans begin threatening with knives::: All right! I won't skip him! Jeez!

Thanks go to (you guys make me feel so important)…

Kyra: I'm ahead of you! _Nyah!_ **P** Anyway, thanks for your support!

Her Royal Weirdness: You're the queen of angst! No wait. That's Dana-chan. Oh well! You're an awesome writer!

Dana-chan: I know, I know, my Angst Queen! Your humble Angst Poet hasn't been writing angsty (is that even a word?) poems lately. Hopefully, this series is enough! J

To _all_ my readers: Without you guys, I'd have no reason to write this! Your positive reviews keep me working!

My muse, Izzy: I'd like a good night's sleep tonight! Is that too much to ask?! Anyway, thanks for the ideas!

Shameless promos (those who I support and who support me)…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: Four words to all you authors out there - _Submit to this page!!!_ :::turns to Kyra::: You owe me another twenty. J

World Under Ours: Fantastic page with couple shrines which is in the process of moving to a new server. Good luck to Her Royal Weirdness. J

Shadows Beyond Reality: Yes, it's a Yaoi/Yuri page, but it's an _awesome_ Y-page! This page is what got me into reading those types of fics in the first place! Plus it has doujinshi!!! J


	7. A Different Reality Part 6

A Different Reality Part 6

by Cybra

A/N: I've been trying to put this POV off…and I can't do it forever. I'm so nervous…this character is my **_least_** favorite character…that's a human. Oh well. I'll give it my best shot.

Disclaimer: You thought I forgot didn't you? Well, I _don't _own Digimon! Ha ha!

Hi there!

My name is Sora Takenouchi.

I'm a member of the Digidestined and the holder of the Crest of Love.

I think the others already brought you up to date on what's going on so I won't bore you with the details.

As I said before, my Crest is the Crest of Love.

It took me this long to realize I was staring at someone's love right in the face.

Tai's love for me?

I wish.

It's Kari's love for somebody we don't even know.

The strange boy she calls "Light Child".

You'd have to be a total moron not to notice…in Matt's opinion.

I guess I qualify under that statement…

But I think Matt intended that for Tai.

Well, Tai _is_ a little…how can I put this?

I suppose "dense" is the right word.

Of course, I didn't know all this at the time when Biyomon looked up at me as we walked around Piximon's training grounds. A couple of the Digimon training here were pretty surprised to see us, but kept concentrating on their training.

That takes dedication.

__

Especially when you're training with Piximon.

"Sora, what're you thinking about?" Biyomon asked me.

"I'm just thinking about Kari right now."

Biyomon shifted uncomfortably. "That's another thing I wanted to ask you. Why's she acting so weird?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Bi. She's not sick or anything…"

"Sora!" Mimi called.

I turned to meet her and Palmon as they ran to catch up with us. I smiled at her. That's when I noticed she was dragging Kari along with her. Poor Kari. Gatomon was running alongside the pair, trying to get Mimi to let go of Kari. Poor Gatomon.

As soon as they caught up, Kari looked down at her shoes. I looked at Mimi in surprise.

"Hopefully, Tai didn't see you dragging her halfway across the training grounds."

"No way. He's talking with the boys on our plan of attack. I didn't want to listen in on that at _all._ How boring. TK and Patamon are helping Piximon with some of the chores around here and I didn't want to go through _that _again. So I decided I'd talk to you, but I brought Kari along since she was just staring into space."

"Mimi…" Kari began, but Mimi cut her off.

"Well, Kari, I wanted you to talk with me and Sora for a while anyway. I want you to talk about what's going on lately."

Palmon and Biyomon exchanged a look. Then, the two of them both shook their heads. Gatomon tugged at Mimi's hand, trying to get her to let go of Kari.

"Kari, what _is_ going on?" I asked.

"Nothing's going on."

"Then who were you talking to last night?" Mimi asked.

I looked at Mimi in surprise, but Mimi didn't answer.

"A friend," Kari told us, then shut her mouth.

"Well, can we see the locket he asked you to take care of?" Mimi asked.

Kari opened her mouth, then closed it. It must've been pretty personal. She clutched at her whistle…no, wait. She wasn't holding her _whistle_ really. She was gripping onto something under her shirt. Her Crest, maybe? Or was it this locket that Mimi was trying to force Kari to talk to her about?

"Mimi, if she doesn't want to talk about it…"

Kari shook her head, then looked up at us with utmost seriousness.

"I was just wondering something. Have you ever been with someone and just wished time would stop whenever you were with them? That every second would last hours?"

Mimi and I exchanged a surprised glance.

Gatomon sighed and told us, "I didn't have a clue what she was talking about when she asked me."

I thought I heard her mutter, "But I have a pretty good idea."

"I haven't," Mimi admitted.

"Neither have I," I lied.

__

'I just feel that way whenever I'm around Tai and we're alone. No big deal,' I thought, but kept the thought to myself.

Mimi's eyes went wide. "So, is he TK?"

Kari gave a look of surprise. "What?"

"It's obvious that somebody's got you wrapped around their little finger," I teased. "So, is this guy TK?"

Kari shook her head. "TK's my friend."

"Then, who is it?"

I thought I'd either scream or just die when she gave me the answer while she began blushing.

"Light Child."

~~~~~

For 10 whole minutes, we stood there staring at one another, not saying a word. Gatomon finally walked with Kari back to the building part of Piximon's training grounds. Mimi and I stood there stupidly, our jaws still dropped.

Light Child?

She had a crush on the kid who we see _only _when we were in some serious hot water.

I had to have heard wrong.

I looked at Mimi, hoping that my expression wasn't also on her face.

Just my luck. She'd heard what I thought I'd heard, too.

Kari had a crush on someone she'd only met in person once.

At least…as far as _we_ know.

If what Mimi said was true, then Kari and Light Child had been together at least one other time.

"I guessed that was who she was talking to on the balcony last night. I just…didn't know…" Mimi muttered, filling in the silence.

Biyomon and Palmon started asking questions immediately after the silence was broken.

"What does 'wrapped around their little finger' mean?"

"What did she mean when she said she wished time would stop when they were together?"

"What happened last night?"

Mimi quickly told us about what had happened the night before. I was surprised beyond belief.

"We've got to tell, Tai."

Palmon looked confused. "Why?"

"We don't know this guy, Palmon. Besides, I think Tai might want to know what's going on with his sister."

~~~~~

Tai was taking this relatively well.

"She has a crush on him?!"

"Relatively well" meant that he hadn't died of a heart attack when I told him.

"It's pretty natural, Tai. Sure, she's a little young to have her first crush, but she's a lot more mature than most kids her age. I guess it makes sense. Sorta," I told him.

Matt was trying his best not to laugh at Tai's reaction. I could just tell. "Mr. Cool" was turning a bright red color as he put his hand over his mouth. He was also shaking uncontrollably.

Joe looked pretty calm about the whole situation…much to my complete surprise. Usually, _he's_ the one panicking over a situation.

__

Tai's supposed to be the one who's all gung-ho about something.

Tai turned around to Matt. "Say one word and you're dead meat."

Agumon looked embarrassed _for_ Tai. Gabumon just shook his head as Matt tried to keep a straight face (unsuccessfully I'll add) as he nodded. Gomamon was laughing his head off at Tai.

Joe put a hand on Tai's shoulder…a look of amusement in his eye. Apparently, he'd thought that Tai's reaction had been funny. Still, his blue eyes looked serious.

"Tai, calm down. Kari's little crush is probably based on the fact that he saved her life not only from a short distance away, but also in person. Think about it. Light Child actually swooped down with Kabuterimon to rescue her from Skullgreymon. He hasn't done that for the rest of us since we haven't been _caught_ like she had been. She'll get over it."

I nodded in agreement with Joe.

Matt, while trying not to laugh, said, "Yeah, Tai. No need to get worked up about it."

That seemed to calm down Tai…for now at least.

Now that I was sure that Tai wouldn't kill anybody, I decided to go help Mimi dust the furniture on the 3rd floor.

I should've known that Piximon would put all of us to work at some point…

That is, if you weren't working on our plans of attack.

Oh well.

However, I was definitely _not_ looking forward to the hours it would take just to dust the 3rd floor.

Knowing Piximon, he'll probably make us dust the rest of the place.

What fun.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: TK's POV is also guaranteed to be short, so watch out. I don't really know _how_ he'd react in this situation. I was sort of planning to do the POV's of the different Digidestined's in a certain order, but after working on Sora's and Mimi's…I've decided that would be pretty difficult. So basically, after I get one the POV done for each kid, I'm going to scramble them all up! For all you know, Tai could have 2 POV's in a row!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Thanks go to…

Kyra: Work on Gem Warriors!!! :::gets down on her knees and bows::: I'm begging you and Matt!!!

Her Royal Weirdness: Your "muse" is working her butt off! Hope you liked the product!

Kelly Moon: Another Izzy worshiper! Thanks for letting me post this on your site! I suppose I'll forgive you for liking Sora. ;)

Shameless promos…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: You _will _submit to Kyra's small, but growing, site. A very nice site with very _original_ page titles. :) :::turns to Kyra::: You still haven't paid me yet. J

World Under Ours: Her Royal Weirdness' site with various couple shrines! Spiffy!

The Crest of Knowledge: Kelly Moon's Izzy shrine!!! WOOHOO!!! Izzy lovers, submit here!!!


	8. A Different Reality Part 7

A Different Reality Part 7

by Cybra

A/N: Oh boy…I'm really nervous about this one…:::crosses her fingers::: Please don't let those 3 episodes of the "Twilight Zone" interfere with my writing! Please don't let me get stuck in TK's bowl-covered head! :::runs from TK fans:::

Disclaimer: (Sort of to the tune of "We Have An Opening For a Princess" from "Once Upon a Mattress") Alas! Alas! Digimon's ownership, I lack!

Hi! My name's TK!

Well, actually my name is Takeru Takaishi, but I like "TK" better.

But Matt says that I should give my full name.

Matt's my big brother! He's the bestest big brother ever!

Even though Kari says that Tai's better, I _know _Matt's the best!

Patamon's my Digimon friend! He's really cool!

Well, me and the others were at Piximon's training camp for a little while. Matt, Tai, and Joe were trying to come up with a plan to fight against Puppetmon, one of the Dark Masters.

I don't like fighting, but we have to stop him!

I'm just glad I have Patamon and Matt. We had to leave Mom and Dad back at home.

I miss them a lot.

"Hey, TK! I'll race you!" Patamon yelled, still holding his little rag.

The two of us were helping Sora, Mimi, Palmon, and Biyomon dust the 3rd floor. Piximon's place is _huge,_ but it's pretty cool! I can still remember the last time we were here. We all had to scrub the floors, and me and Tokomon had a cleaning race. It was so much fun!

Of course, that's when Matt left in the middle of the night to find his Crest. I wish he'd let me go along with him. But he came back safe and sound!

"Okay!" I yelled back to Patamon.

Gatomon and Kari came in about the same time Patamon and I were running with our rags along this really long table. Both of them jumped out of the way when we almost ran into them. Kari laughed as Gatomon jumped up to slow down Patamon. I was a little behind, but I was catching up!

"No fair, Gatomon!" Patamon whined.

Gatomon just laughed as she went over by Kari again. Patamon and I ended up tying when we reached the end of the table. When we walked back to Kari and Gatomon, Focsulamon was talking to them.

"If it's okay, do you think you could help me train?" he asked.

Gatomon nodded. "Sure thing. Is that okay, Kari?"

Kari nodded, smiling. "Sure, Gatomon. Can I watch?"

"Sure."

I wanted to watch, too, but I'd promised I'd help with the dusting, so I went back to helping. I wondered what they were doing.

"They're going to _kill_ each other!" Mimi yelled. I looked up to see she was looking out the window.

We all ran to the window and saw Gatomon and Focsulamon fighting out in the yard. Focsulamon ran on his hind legs and on all fours. Gatomon was doing the same thing. At the same time, they were shooting attacks at each other. It was pretty neat to watch, but I was kinda scared that one of them would get hurt.

"Pepper Ball!"

Focsulamon's attack is a lot like Agumon's "Pepper Breath". It's a fireball coming out of his mouth. I think it's pretty neat.

Gatomon jumped to the side, then ran up to him.

"Lightning Claw!"

She hit Focsulamon in the jaw. He kinda tripped and landed on his back when Gatomon tripped him with her tail.

"We better go find out what's going on!" Sora said.

"There is no need to worry. Nope nope!" Piximon told us. "Your friend is helping my student learn to defend himself and attack. I am most grateful for Gatomon's help. Yep yep! I just wish _all_ my students were as dedicated as Focsulamon."

"Are they going to be okay?" Patamon asked.

"Of course! I trust that Gatomon will not hurt Focsulamon too badly. Yep yep!"

I saw Kari standing off to the side, watching. I could tell that she knew what was going on. I wished I was down there watching with her. It was really hard to see with a lot of people in the way.

That's when we heard this really loud roar.

"Bear Claw!"

The next thing we all knew was that Gatomon and Focsulamon were trying to get up while Kari was screaming. There was this big black bear Digimon standing there! His eyes were glowing bright red!

"We gotta help them!" I yelled.

"Right!" Patamon shouted.

The two of us began running out of the room while Sora yelled, "No, wait!"

When we got outside, Patamon quickly digivolved to Angemon.

"Stay back, Ursumon," Angemon told that bear Digimon.

Gatomon leaped forward to protect Kari. Focsulamon growled at Ursumon.

"Lightning Claw!"

"Bear Claw!"

Gatomon landed on all fours after Ursumon's attack hit her. Ursumon wasn't really happy that she'd hit him so he attacked her!

"Ursus Roar!"

"Gatomon! Watch out!" Kari shouted.

"Hand of Fate!"

"Pixie Bomb, Seek and Destroy!"

Ursumon's attack destroyed both Angemon's and Piximon's! I was getting really scared as I ran to help Kari. Gatomon ran up to us.

"Who is that guy?" Kari asked. She was shaking real bad.

"Ursumon is a Mega Digimon with a really bad attitude. He really doesn't like it when other Digimon come into his territory," Gatomon told us.

With Kari's help, Gatomon quickly digivolved into Angewomon to help Piximon and Angemon. Focsulamon also helped fight, but he wasn't as strong as the others. The other trainees were running like Piximon had told them to.

__

'We gotta win this…'

That's when Focsulamon began to glow.

"Focsulamon digivolve to…Vulpesmon!"

Vulpesmon is _huge!_ He walks on all fours and he's as tall as Matt! He may be as tall as Metal Garurumon! At the moment, he was also bright red. From what Focsulamon said, that meant that he was pretty mad.

"Ursus Roar!"

"River of Fire!"

Even Vulpesmon's attack didn't stop Ursumon's attack! I was getting even scareder. Kari was shaking next to me. She was pretty scared, too.

__

'I know_ we can win this…'_ I thought. _'We _can_ beat Ursumon.'_

That's when a bright yellow light caught my eye. I looked down to see a yellow glow under my shirt. I pulled out my Crest to see that it was glowing!

"Angemon digivolve to…MagnaAngemon!"

I used to think Angemon was cool, but MagnaAngemon is even _cooler!_ He was really big with this purple sword in his hand.

"Celestial Arrow!"

"River of Fire!"

"Ursus Roar!"

MagnaAngemon put his sword in front of Ursumon's attack, stopping it completely! Angewomon and Vulpesmon's attacks easily hit Ursumon.

"Go get him, MagnaAngemon!" I shouted.

That's when MagnaAngemon swung his sword in a circle.

"Gate of Destiny."

This cool looking gate with all kinds of digi-writing on it opened up in the circle. Vulpesmon's "River of Fire" attack hit Ursumon right in the chest, making him fly backwards into the gate. Then the gate closed up and then vanished! Ursumon was gone!

"Cool!" I shouted.

"We did it!" Kari yelled.

That's when Angewomon de-digivolved into Gatomon and MagnaAngemon de-digivolved into Patamon. I was happy to have Patamon back! The best part was that he didn't have to de-digivolve all the way to his In-Training form like the other Digimon had to do the first couple of times…except for Gatomon, of course. I hugged Patamon tightly.

That's when the others arrived. Matt ran over to me while Tai ran over to Kari.

"TK!"

"Kari!"

We both gave our big brothers a hug.

"We're okay, Tai. MagnaAngemon saved us…with Vulpesmon's help!" Kari explained.

"We saw. That was pretty incredible," Tai told her. "Sorry we couldn't get here faster."

"It's okay, Tai! Me and Patamon can handle anything!" I told him.

"Right!" Patamon said.

Piximon smiled and turned to Vulpesmon who was now this pretty purple color.

"I suppose you'll be leaving now."

"Are you kidding? I'm staying right here! I want to give you a hand with all the trainees. By practicing with Gatomon, I gained just enough experience to keep myself alive! I can help the others!"

"A good choice you are making. Yep yep! This will aide me in teaching all the others and anyone else who comes to my training grounds."

I wasn't really paying attention. Neither was Kari. Both of us were looking over to the side where two people were standing. One of them looked like a Tentomon. The other one looked like a human!

I was about to yell to them when they turned and walked away. I was a little sad that they didn't want to come out and talk to us.

But I know I'll get to meet them someday!

A/N: There it is. TK's POV! Whew! I made it out of his mind alive! :::dodges rotten fruit::: Hey! Writing even 3 pages as TK is hard! Next up is Tai's POV, then the random scrambling! BWAHAHAHAHA!!! cough, cough! Must…dust…room! wheeze! ;)

Kudos to…

Kyra: I worship your mightiness…umm….

Her Royal Weirdness: I worship your almighty self….umm…

Kelly Moon: I forgive you for being a Sora lover…umm… ;)

Shameless promos…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: This is _not _a test of the Emergency Submitting System. You _will_ submit to this site…Please? It's really nice!

World Under Ours: Her Royal Weirdness' pet page! Good site! Good site! Have a doggie treat! -.-;;; Anyway, it _is_ a good site!

The Crest of Knowledge: Izzy shrine! Izzy shrine! Izzy shrine! Izzy fans, **_unite!!!_**


	9. A Different Reality Part 8

A Different Reality Part 8

by Cybra

A/N: Okay, minna, here's what's going on. Next week the fics will be few and in-between. Reason? I have to teach a class for a week in origami! Not only that, but the week _after_ that has me out for 5 days at a family reunion. . Just so you guys know.

Disclaimer: I own many Digimon things, but I do not own what makes them. I own all the strange new Digimon in this fic, yet I do not own the series. Who am I? A fanfic author for cryin' out loud!!!

Hi, my name's Taichi Kamiya…

But you can call me "Tai"!

I'm the leader of the Digidestined…much to Matt's anger.

It's kinda fun to watch him fume.

Uh…there's also Mimi, Joe, my sister Kari, TK, and Sora, my friend from soccer.

By the way, I _know_ Sora has a crush on me.

It's so obvious.

Do I return those feelings?

Not on your life! I've got the group and saving the world to worry about!

I don't have time for romance!

Woah…I just sounded like Matt!

Anyway, we also have these cool friends called "Digimon".

My bud Agumon has to be the best of them all!

Forget what Matt says about Gabumon and just agree with me, okay?

Well, we were at Piximon's training camp in the middle of Puppetmon's forest. Joe, Matt, Agumon, Gomamon, Gabumon, and I were all in a room looking over a map Piximon had given us. Unfortunately, it didn't show where Puppetmon was hiding out. Piximon hadn't found that wooden jerk's hideout yet.

Major bummer.

So there we were, leaning over the map and trying to guess at where Puppetmon's place might be with a highly scientific method…

One of us would lean over the map, close their eyes, and stab at some point at the map with their finger. Then, we'd all debate for about 10 minutes on whether or not that was where Puppetmon might be hiding.

In other words, we were getting absolutely nowhere.

You see, we had all agreed (yes, even Matt and I) that we should find out where that hideout was, _then_ make some sort of plan of attack.

Only problem is, we didn't know where Puppetmon was.

I closed my eyes and allowed my finger to hover over the map for a moment. I brought it down on the map and opened my eyes.

"How about here?" I asked.

Joe looked at the spot. "Not a bad spot."

"Yeah, if Puppetmon wanted to hide where there was a whole clump of trees," Matt added sarcastically.

"Hey, give me a break! My _finger _wanted to land there!"

"Sure, Tai. Blame it on your finger. That finger is on your hand, bonehead!"

Agumon and Gabumon quickly separated the two of us before we killed each other. Joe was looking at the ground and shaking his head.

"Guys, we're getting nowhere. Let's take a break before one of us breaks the other ones' necks," he suggested.

"Fine!" Matt and I shouted at the same time.

I marched out of the room when I realized I was acting a little unfair to those two. I'd been a little on edge ever since Sora had told me about Kari's crush.

That's another thing I'm worried about.

Kari has a crush on our mysterious helper known only as "Light Child".

I'm worried she'll try to go find him and end up getting hurt.

Or maybe I'm just being over protective.

Nah. Couldn't be.

I was talking with Agumon a little later that day when I heard a buzzing noise heading toward us. When I looked out the window, it was that Kabuterimon with the black collar we'd seen before! Ordinarily, I would've gone out immediately to fight it, but it didn't seem to be doing anything but flying around. Maybe he was getting something to munch on.

__

'Or someone_ to munch on,'_ one part of my mind thought darkly.

I ignored that thought and kept on watching the Kabuterimon. He flew on, not giving us a second look. Maybe he'd forgotten about us.

"What is it, Tai?" Agumon asked, finally noticing I was looking out the window.

"That evil Kabuterimon was flying past. I just wanted to keep an eye on him."

"Oh…" Agumon paused as he watched the Kabuterimon fly on. "Do you think he's looking for us?"

"Uh uh. Sora and Biyomon are outside, he would've seen them. Besides, it's not like there's millions of kids in the Digiworld so he would've known they were a part of our group."

I heard a slight rumble. I turned to Agumon as he began holding his stomach.

"Sorry, Tai. I'm just pretty hungry…"

I grinned. "It's okay, Agumon. Besides, it's lunch time anyway! Let's go get some chow!"

Agumon nodded before he began to run out of the room.

"Race you to the food!"

"What? Hey! No fair!"

I noticed quickly that Kari was only picking at the food in front of her. She had always eaten whatever had been in front of her. But today, she looked distracted. It was like she was worried about something.

Or maybe someone.

I decided to ask her about it. "Hey, Kari. Do you like your lunch?"

"Huh? Sure, Tai."

"Yeah, right. You haven't eaten a thing since you sat down. What's wrong?"

By now, everybody was listening. Gatomon looked like she knew what was going on, but didn't say anything. That cat can keep some really good secrets when she wants to.

"Nothing's wrong."

"Liar. C'mon, Kari, tell me. I'm your big brother. You can tell me anything."

The look she gave me meant, "And get you overly worried."

I looked at my plate for a second before I heard Matt say something.

"It's that Kabuterimon, isn't it?" he asked.

Kari nodded after a minute. "He was flying like he had some sort of purpose. Like he was on a mission or something. I'm worried about Light Child. What if _he's _what that Kabuterimon was looking for?"

"You mean like he wanted a rematch?" Joe asked.

Kari nodded again. I bit my lower lip, not knowing what to say.

Agumon answered for me with, "Don't worry, Kari. I'm sure he's just fine."

I heard that buzzing sound again when it was almost sunset. I looked out the window to see that evil Kabuterimon flying above.

Except there was something different about him this time.

This time something was dripping from his claws.

I had a really bad feeling about what that something was.

Matt leaned over past me to get a look. His blue eyes widened.

"I don't like the looks of this…"

"We're going to have to fight him aren't we?" Joe asked worriedly.

"Electro Shocker!"

The Kabuterimon's attack hit the side of the building, rocking us from left to right.

"Well, there's your answer, Joe!" I shouted. "C'mon, Agumon! Let's get this guy!"

"Right!"

Agumon and I ran outside with Matt and Gabumon close behind us. I'm guessing Matt thought we couldn't handle him.

__

'He's just a bug. Just like Kuwagamon was just a bug. And Kuwagamon was defeated by Koromon, Tsunomon, Tanemon, Yokomon, and Tokomon. Two Champions can take him out. No problem.'

Agumon and Gabumon digivolved into Greymon and Garurumon and began to attack that big bug. The evil Kabuterimon flew high over head, making it hard to attack.

"Where's Birdramon when you need her?!" I demanded.

"Flying over the forest with Sora to look for Puppetmon's hideout!" Matt answered me.

"Who told her to do that?"

"You did, Tai."

Oh. Yeah. Duh.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Nova Blast!"

The evil Kabuterimon kept flying back and forth away from the attacks. We were pretty lucky dodging his attacks, but they came awful close.

"River of Fire!"

Vulpesmon ran up to us quickly.

"We need to get him grounded! He's too big to move that quickly on the ground!" he told us.

"Right! So let's go in the air after him!" I shouted.

That's when I saw Gatomon digivolve into Angewomon. She flew up towards the evil Kabuterimon and attacked.

"Heaven's Charm!"

The Kabuterimon was able to fly away from most of the attack, but was still hit. He fell and hit the ground nearby.

"Thanks, Angewomon!" Greymon yelled.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Nova Blast!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"River of Fire!"

The evil Kabuterimon disappeared into bits of data. I smiled widely as I walked up to Greymon.

"Nice work, Greymon!"

Kari came running up to Angewomon who de-digivolved into Gatomon.

"Great job, Gatomon!"

"Thanks, Kari!"

Garurumon smiled at Matt, neither one of them saying a word. You know, it's pretty weird to see a wolf taller than you smiling at you. Especially since you know you could be lunch.

I looked down at the spot the evil Kabuterimon had landed. There was blood, but from what I could tell, that big bug hadn't been cut anywhere. That's when I remembered that something had been dripping from his claws.

Greymon suddenly growled and I looked up at him.

"What is it, Greymon?"

"Something's coming."

"Sounds like some kind of bug," Garurumon added.

That's when we saw a small bug shape flying towards us, but it seemed more than a little shaky. As it came closer, Matt recognized it.

"Hey! That's a Tentomon!"

"It looks hurt!" Kari shouted.

The Tentomon began to fall, but Vulpesmon ran forward and caught the little beetle in his bushy tail. Greymon and Garurumon quickly de-digivolved as we all ran over to see what was wrong.

The little guy was bleeding in several places. He looked like he'd gone one on one with that Kabuterimon and lost. Maybe the Tentomon was the source of the blood on that evil Kabuterimon's claws.

"Hey. You okay?" Vulpesmon asked.

"Had to…fight…Too late to…digivolve…Koushiro…" the Tentomon wheezed before he passed out.

I was confused. Who the heck was Koushiro? I heard Kari gasp, then the sound of her footsteps running away from where we were. I looked up to see her disappear into the woods, Gatomon running close behind her.

"Wait! Kari! Come back!" I shouted, but she didn't listen.

Matt began to run after my little sister with Gabumon, hoping to catch up. I stood up.

"C'mon, Agumon! We gotta find her!"

"Right!"

The two of us ran into the woods, hoping to catch up with Kari. Matt could've been lost in there as well, but all I was worried about was my sister Kari. Agumon began sniffing the air, trying to pick up her scent. I did the only thing _I _could do.

**__**

"Kari!!!"

A/N: Ah, the suspense! BWAHAHAHA!!! Did I forget to mention last time that I may ignore a couple of character's POV's when I start jumping around? So sorry. J

And the Academy Award goes to…

Kyra and her muse Matt for their supportive attitudes, interesting conversations, and her fantastic story "Gem Warriors".

Her Royal Weirdness for her spiffy self! Keep on writing those prodigious stories!!

Kelly Moon for her Izzy-worshipping self! Not to mention her spiffy Izzy shrine and putting up with her muse Tai!

Katt Monroe and her muse Jyou for those excellent stories! Keep 'em comin'!

My muse Izzy for his good ideas, determination to make me work, and his cuteness! ^.^

Shameless promos (Katt, I don't know if you even _have _a site. Gomen!)…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive (www.geocities.com/kyraice5/index.html): This be a warning to all people who do not submit - you will be plunged into a cave of darkness like Matt and Sora were. J

World Under Ours (worldunderours.freeservers.com//main.html): Raise your hand if you love this site! :::raises her hand:::

The Crest of Knowledge (izzys_crest_of_knowledge.homestead.com/index.html): Raise your hand if you love Izzy! :::raises her hand so high it almost comes out of its socket:::


	10. A Different Reality Part 9

A Different Reality Part 9

by Cybra

A/N: You most likely predicted this one. It's Kari's POV!

Disclaimer: I…:::watches Toei's and Bandai's lawyers sit on the edges of their seats::: do _not_ own Digimon! :::the lawyers all sigh and lean back::: Ha ha!

I don't think I'll have to reintroduce myself, but for those of who _don't _know me, I'm Kari.

I was running along the trail Tentomon must've flown through, searching for Light Child.

Only now I know his real name.

Koushiro.

I'd put the pieces together just a second after Tentomon said his name.

You see, the literal translation of "Koushiro" _is_ "Light Child".

I'd been calling him by his real name the whole time without even realizing it!

I stopped when a fallen tree blocked my path. The trunk had been sliced in half and there was no way around it.

"Kari, hold onto me!" Gatomon told me.

I did as she told me to and she began climbing over the large tree. Actually, she was leaping from branch to branch, sinking her claws into the bark as she went. We were really moving!

__

'Hold on, Koushiro…hold on,' I told our friend from afar.

Suddenly, Gatomon leaped out into space. I gave a slight yelp as we fell, but Gatomon easily landed on her feet. She looked back at me with her pretty blue eyes to make sure I was okay.

"I'm fine, Gatomon, but we've got to hurry. I have a bad feeling…"

"I understand, Kari. Come on! He can't be too far away!"

Gatomon led the way just in case of bad monsters as we ran along the path.

In the distance, I heard my brother shout, **_"Kari!!!"_**

I groaned while Gatomon commented, "Tai is going to give you the big brother lecture of the century when we get back…"

I nodded as we continued running. There were thick patches of brush that continued to block our way, but I wouldn't give up! He had risked his life to save me before, and I was determined to help him now. I continued running with Gatomon until we reached a clearing.

It was obvious that this clearing had been created by a battle. There were branches lying everywhere. It was like a bunch of Kuwagamon had come through and trimmed the trees at odd angles. Rocks were everywhere. I found Koushiro's backpack, satchel, and computer, but no Koushiro.

"Koushiro!" I called.

Gatomon walked a little ahead of me, picking her way through the branches and rocks. I heard her gasp.

"Kari! Over here! Quickly!"

I made my way quickly and carefully over to her. When I came up beside my Digimon friend, I saw what had made her gasp.

Koushiro was lying on his side, his breathing slow. His whole body had been thrown against a rock, knocking him out. Blood oozed from several different places, one of them from a gash on his forehead. For a moment, he began to shake, like he was cold or something, then he fell mostly still.

"Koushiro? Koushiro! Koushiro, are you all right?!" I asked, leaning close to him.

He took a big breath and one of his dark eyes opened.

"Hikari…?"

"It's me. Don't worry. You'll be just fine."

I'd never seen anyone like this before. Koushiro's eye focused on me, which I was glad for, but it began to blink rapidly when a bit of blood got into it. Gatomon looked up at me.

"We've got to get him back to Piximon's training grounds."

"But how? Gatomon, you can't carry both of us!"

She looked up at the sky and said, ignoring what I'd just said, "It's a good thing that Kabuterimon ripped apart the trees."

I blinked then realized what she was getting at.

"Do you think I could carry him okay as Angewomon?" Gatomon asked me.

"I hope so." I turned back to Koushiro.

He'd closed his eye once more and looked like he was sleeping…but I knew better. I gently lifted his head up.

"Koushiro? Gatomon and I think we have a plan to get you out of here and to get some help. Would it be okay if Angewomon carried both of us?"

I felt Koushiro nod slightly. However, Gatomon didn't have enough time to digivolve when Garurumon, with Matt riding on his back, ran into view.

"Kari, you're okay! Tai's looking – Wha – ?!"

"Please, Matt, Garurumon! You two can help! Carry Kari back to Piximon's training grounds. I'll be able to carry Koushiro more gently this way," Gatomon explained.

I couldn't have said that better myself. Within moments, I was on Garurumon's back, holding onto Matt and Koushiro's things, and Angewomon was in the air with Koushiro in her arms. I gripped my Crest.

"Angewomon, listen up!" A pink light came out of my Crest and hit Angewomon. "You know that room we sleep in? Put Koushiro in my bed there. It's the closest one to the balcony. That way we won't have to move him as much!"

Matt looked impressed as I gave Angewomon her instructions. Angewomon smiled and nodded, flying ahead.

"And don't forget to get Joe!" I shouted.

"Don't worry, Kari! I'll see you back at Piximon's training grounds!"

Garurumon ran tirelessly along the path. The fallen tree quickly came into view…

"Howling Blaster!"

…And went quickly out of view.

We ran by Tai and Agumon, but I hardly noticed. Tai was shouting at Matt to stop, but Matt either didn't hear him or was ignoring him. My money's on number 2.

~~~~~

As soon as we reached Piximon's training ground, I ran upstairs to where we slept, taking the steps two at a time. I raced through the hallways creating so much noise, you would've thought an army was running through.

When I got into the room, Gatomon was waiting for me. Joe was in there, finishing up with Koushiro's wounds. I walked up to them, not wanting to disturb them.

"Someone's going to have to watch him to make sure he doesn't make himself worse. He's lost a good amount of blood, and I don't know his blood type or even _how_ to give a transfusion from one of us," Joe told us. "Tai's going to need me in plotting our strategy, but I don't want to leave him alone just in case."

"I'll do it," I volunteered.

"I'll help," Gatomon added.

Joe turned and nodded. I quickly left and grabbed a chair. I came back and began to sit patiently beside the bed, waiting for him to wake up.

Gatomon hopped up into my lap like she does a lot and curled up like a slightly larger version of Meeko. I began to pet her.

"He'll be fine, Kari. I know it," she told me.

"I know," I agreed smiling.

Gatomon smiled back and began to purr. I love it when she purrs. It reminds me of home, but it's a nice reminder of home. I had always loved to hear Meeko purr.

I looked over Koushiro as he slept. He was looking paler than usual and there were bandages on his left arm, around his forehead, and probably a few other places. He looked…well…helpless. I didn't like that look on him at all.

~~~~~

About an hour later, I heard him moan slightly as he began to move a little. I'd dozed off a bit and Gatomon was asleep in my lap. I gently put Gatomon on the floor and stood up, leaning forward to stop him from sitting up.

"Joe says you have to rest," I told him.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. I smiled, happy he was okay. However, he tried to sit up again.

"Don't do that!" I ordered.

"Kari…" he started, his voice as cold as normal, but it ended in a groan.

I froze. He'd never called me by my nickname before! It'd always been "Hikari".

"What did you just call me?" I asked, wondering if I'd heard correctly.

"Kari," he answered, slightly amazed himself, but he ignored that after a moment. "Kari, I need to talk with your brother."

"Why do you need to talk to Tai?" I asked.

He looked at me directly in the eye. "I need to tell him where Puppetmon's mansion is. I know he, Yamato, and Jyou were trying to figure out where it was. I was coming here anyway to sneak in and circle the area on the map when no one was in the room, but then…" He winced in sudden pain.

I forced him to lay back down.

"But then the evil Kabuterimon showed up."

"Tentomon and I lead him away from all of you. Tento didn't even get the chance to…oh, God! Tentomon! Where is he?" He snapped back up and looked around wildly.

I forced him back down again. Realizing that his control had slipped, his face held no more emotion, but his eyes showed off his worry for his Digimon friend.

"Don't worry. Tentomon's okay. He's with the other Digimon right now, resting up." I gave him a stern look. "Like you should be."

Gatomon said, "I'll go get Tai."

Koushiro and I nodded. I couldn't believe that I'd found someone as stubborn as I was! It was obvious that he wouldn't rest until he'd spoken to Tai…or got his hands on that map. I had to smile at the trait we both shared.

He raised an eyebrow at me just as Tai walked into the room with Joe and Matt behind him, Gatomon in the lead.

"You know where Puppetmon's mansion is? How?" Tai asked.

Koushiro dispassionately told him, "I've flown over the forest many times with Kabuterimon and Megakabuterimon. I've also been inside Puppetmon's demented mansion."

Tai looked at Joe and Matt. They nodded. Tai handed him the map and a pen.

"Just circle where it is."

After studying the map for a minute, Koushiro drew a circle around the spot. Tai blinked at the spot, but Matt was grinning.

"I knew it! I was right!" he shouted gleefully.

"Shut up, Matt!" Tai snapped.

Joe pushed Tai and Matt out of the room once again. They were obviously going to plan our attack now that we knew where Puppetmon's hideout was.

I turned back to Koushiro was sinking back into the bed.

"Whose bed have I stolen?" he asked wearily.

"Mine, but I volunteered it."

Both of us were silent for a minute until he said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome! Just get better. Okay?"

He nodded.

"You don't mind me calling you 'Kari' from now on, do you?"

"No. Actually, I like it better than 'Hikari'." I paused. "Do _you_ have a nickname I could call you by?"

Koushiro shook his head. "Never had one. I gave Tentomon one, but never had one myself."

We both sat in silence again. Gatomon stood next to me and allowed me to scratch her ears.

"There's something else you want to know."

I looked surprised, then nodded. His eyes gave me a smile.

"I could tell. What is it?"

"Why did you hide from us all this time? I just don't understand it."

I watched as his already dark eyes darkened.

"It's not important. I had my reasons. Anyway, I knew I was going to join up with all of you sooner or later. Might as well be sooner."

I watched as he closed his eyes and began to drift off.

"Sorry…" he mumbled.

"You just get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise."

Koushiro just nodded and fell asleep. I sat back down in my chair and Gatomon took up her position in my lap. I was going to keep my promise. No matter what.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Well? Anybody still interested in my story?

Thanks to…

Kyra: :::hug::: You're so spiffy! You and your muse Matt!

Her Royal Weirdness: :::hug::: Arigato for listening to me babble!

Kelly Moon: :::hug::: I have no idea what we're talking about! ;)

Shameless promos (I'm lazy. And I gave you the web addresses in my last part)…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: See the submit section. Click on the submit section. Now submit!!! :::counts her money::: Anyway, it's a cool site!

World Under Ours: A spiffy site run by Her Royal Weirdness. Good thing I don't run a webpage ;)

The Crest of Knowledge: Izzy shrine…Izzy… :::melts:::


	11. A Different Reality Part 10

A Different Reality Part 10

by Cybra

A/N: Long time, no see! I've been teaching origami at a summer program at my church, but my sentence is now over! Unfortunately, I'm going to be gone for a week starting this Thursday at a family reunion. P Oh well…Let's see if I've still got it.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Digimon. How depressing. Also, _The Art of War_ by Shu Tzu is a real book that I do not own either. I just read the passage from a different book. I haven't actually read _The Art of War_.

Voices.

Voices I'd heard before.

The same voices that had finished the process of taking away my old life.

Those voices danced in my dream, taunting me.

__

"No family?"

"None. His parents died in that wreck. He's lucky to be alive."

"He's perfect."

Just like normal, the voices would skip over everything else and jump to a scene during my 3 years of hell.

Pardon my language.

__

"I believe we can start him on that program now."

"Yes. That would be an excellent idea."

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes.

Well, I opened my eyes about halfway if you want to be picky.

I was surprised when I saw Kari smiling at me.

She'd kept her promise…

Just like my parents had kept _their _promises…

When they were _alive,_ that is.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

Without even thinking, I answered hoarsely, "Like a Greymon ran over me."

I winced at my weakness. Instead of teasing me, like I'd come to expect people to do, she handed me a glass of water to drink. I drank it down slowly, keeping my eyes on her.

Was there something in the water I should be careful of?

__

'Stop being so paranoid!' most of my mind screamed at me. _'You know better than that! Besides, if she _was _evil, she would've taken you out while you were asleep!'_

After I finished, I thanked her for the water and looked around for Taichi or one of the others.

But I was mostly looking for Tentomon.

The memory of Tentomon being thrown by that evil Kabuterimon was still fresh in my memory.

I hadn't been able to get to him before the evil Kabuterimon attacked me.

As if on cue, Tentomon walked in. A bandage was wrapped around his left claw. There were also little stuck-on bandages in different spots. His bright green eyes, one of his most vulnerable spots, were fine and held a look of worry. Then, he looked relieved when he saw me awake.

I was actually ambitious enough to open my eyes all the way…to have to squint again. The light was bright in here.

Kari, somehow knowing, turned down the lighting a little while I opened my eyes slowly this time, allowing my eyes to adjust.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"Tai's going over the plan to destroy Puppetmon," Tentomon explained.

I couldn't help but see the frown in his green eyes.

"What's the plan?"

When Tentomon told me, I immediately tried to get up again.

Kari tried to force me down again.

"You'll hurt yourself worse!"

"I'll be fine!" I growled. "But nobody's going to be _alive_if we all follow this suicidal plan of your brother's!"

~*~

I heard Sora's voice say "That's a good plan" just before I walked in.

"Yeah…if you like suicide missions," I snapped.

Everyone in the room turned to face me. I was leaning heavily against Kari's shoulder…much to my chagrin.

Jyou looked like he was going to order Kari to get me back to bed, but I shot him the coldest death glare I had.

He backed down instantly.

Taichi looked at me, surprised. Then, his brown eyes grew angry.

"What do you mean by that?! It's a great plan! Besides, you haven't heard it yet!"

"Tentomon told me. It's a nice piece of work, I'll admit, but you would have to have an unlimited amount of soldiers if you wanted to work with that plan. All we have here are 16 Digimon and Digidestined." I narrowed my dark eyes. "If we go through with that plan we'll take out Puppetmon, but cost us all our lives. That and the fate of the Digiworld. The Dark Masters would still win since Machinedramon and Piedmon would still be out there."

"Oh, and I suppose that _you_ have a plan?" he taunted.

"As a matter of fact there _is_ a way to get inside without killing ourselves. A pair of Digimon named Deramon and Floramon at Puppetmon's mansion will let us in."

"What makes you so sure?"

"They let me in before so I could get a good look at the place. Besides, they don't like Puppetmon at all."

Yamato then asked the obvious question.

"That could work, but what would we do when we were inside?"

Before I could answer, Kari put in, "We could split up into two teams. One team could wreck havoc on the place and distract Puppetmon while the other team would get in position to attack."

I nodded in agreement. It was a desperate plan, but it would work.

I briefly wondered if she'd been given the same training I had, but dismissed the thought.

I would've seen her file when I hacked the system at the base where I'd trained.

No! **Stop thinking about Earth!**

I gave my mind a mental shake as the others discussed this new plan. Kari looked at me in the eye, her warm brown eyes meeting my cold dark ones.

"You think it will work?" she asked me nervously.

I nodded again. "It's a desperate plan, but it _is_ the most logical plan. Of course, we'll have to have both our Megas where Puppetmon can see them."

Kari smiled at me, thankful that at least one person didn't doubt her idea. Tentomon walked up to me.

"Do you need to sit?" he asked me quietly.

I felt Kari shift underneath my arm. I was probably hurting her shoulder.

"Sure, Tento. I could use the break."

His eyes seemed to tell me he knew my real reason, but he didn't say a word. He and Kari helped me over to a chair. I felt humiliated at showing such a weakness in front of the main group of Digidestined, but my muscles shrieked for respite. I hadn't noticed the pain since I'd been too busy talking with the group.

I listened closely to the heated conversation that was going on.

"I think Kari's got a good idea, but what if Koushiro's messin' with our heads?" Taichi hissed.

"What do you mean?" Jyou asked.

"Think about it. Koushiro hasn't exactly been the most trusting guy here. What if this is some sort of scheme to get us killed? For all we know, all those times Koushiro saved us could've been _staged!_" Taichi paused. "Besides, I don't like it how Kari hangs around him. He could be trouble."

I shook my head slowly. That's when I saw Kari's hands ball up into fists. I looked up in surprise as the gaze she had on her brother turned hard.

Brother and sister rivalry?

Hadn't happened before…

Unless, of course, she didn't like the way he was treating her.

__

'Don't like being treated like a child, eh, Kari? Neither do I.'

"I wish he would just stop doing that…" Kari muttered.

"Everybody hates being treated like a child, Kari. I don't know a single soul who _does_ like it," I stated.

She looked at me, surprised that I knew. I tried not to show my surprise that I'd just said something similar to my thoughts aloud. Tentomon looked amused at me.

__

'Great. Ammo for him when we get into one of our little arguments.'

"You noticed?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "How could I _not_ notice? It's so obvious, it's painful."

Kari gave a slight laugh as Gatomon giggled. I hadn't noticed that the little cat Digimon had followed us.

"I suppose I should learn to live with it. Tai's like that." Kari paused. "Koushiro?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

I answered truthfully, albeit reluctantly, "No, I don't."

"Lucky you."

I raised both my eyebrows in surprise as she laughed again.

If I hadn't had strict control over my own emotional reactions to that statement, I probably would've smiled at her little joke.

Not to mention laugh.

However, I _know _that my eyes smiled and laughed for me.

"All in favor say 'aye'," Taichi told the others.

"Aye!" Jyou, Yamato, Takeru, and Sora answered.

Taichi sighed. "That's four to two. Looks like we're going with this plan."

Mimi frowned, but nodded.

The group walked back towards Kari, Gatomon, Tentomon, and I. I raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"I assume that you've reached a conclusion," I stated easily.

"Yeah, we'll go with Kari's plan."

"Excellent. Now we'll have to split up the group into two teams. Taichi, no matter what, you and Yamato _have _to be in Team One."

"Why?!" Taichi demanded.

"The reason is because your both of your Digimon are the strongest in the group. Not to mention the only two that can go to their Mega forms. If Puppetmon sees either Wargreymon or Metal Garurumon alone, he might suspect something. Big 'might' there. You never know with Puppetmon. However, if he sees Metal Garurumon and Wargreymon _together,_ he'll be too busy to even _think _about an attack coming from the back." I paused as Taichi blinked. "To quote a passage from _The Art of War_ by Shu Tzu, 'Uproar in East, strike in West.'"

All present looked confused. They'd probably never even _heard _of that book.

I knew about _The Art of War_ because it had been required reading.

That book gave some of the other people I'd lived with headaches.

To me, everything in that book made perfect sense.

"Makes sense," Yamato said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I guess," Taichi nervously agreed.

I raised an amused eyebrow.

It's kind of fun watching that boy squirm.

~*~

All of us were in agreement to rest up for a few days. When we were at full strength, we'd set the plan into motion. Vulpesmon had offered to go with us, but we had turned him down. We put another Digimon's life at risk unless it was absolutely necessary.

Our plan would take _exactly_ 16 people to work.

Any more, and our plan of attack would be ruined.

Any less, and we'd be history.

The odds of this plan working were 3537.96 to 1.

Of course, the odds of this plan _failing_ were 3537.96 to 1.

We had an equal chance of winning and losing.

And yes. I _did_ do the math.

Tentomon removed the different bandages from all over him with my help about 3 days after we joined up with the others. He worked his wings, making sure they were in perfect working order. He lifted off with ease.

"Looks like I'll be ready for the fight," he remarked.

"Prodigious."

"But will _you_ be able to join in?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

Tentomon just shook his head as he landed again. He knew I was in one of my determined moods. There are days when there is no arguing with me over a decision. I won't listen one little bit.

Just ask Tentomon. He'll agree with me.

A hand placed itself on my shoulder. I probably jumped about 2 feet in the air before I landed on my feet. I balled up my hands into fists as I spun around, ready to defend myself in case of an attack.

I was extremely shocked to see Yamato standing there.

Of course, _that_ was the understatement of the millennia.

I took deep breaths, trying to stop the flow of adrenaline coursing through my veins. If I'd been that careless outside, I wouldn't have had time to jump.

I lowered my fists. Yamato hadn't moved since he'd been more than a little bewildered at my reaction. I slowed down my breathing in order to slow down my rapidly pounding heart.

"A little warning. You _never_ sneak up on me. Next time, I might not be able to stop myself."

Yamato looked confused, but nodded. I calmed down and looked at him expectantly.

You see, my reaction has long since become automatic.

The reason?

I would've been dead a long time ago if it hadn't become automatic.

That includes the last 3 years that I had been on Earth.

"Kari asked me to help find you. Dinner's ready."

I nodded in understanding.

I had found this little niche on Piximon's training grounds by a fortunate accident. Outside of this little place, I was surrounded by people who wanted to ask questions that I didn't want to answer. Here, however, I could be alone.

Away from the prying questions of the others'.

Away from the knowing eyes of Kari when I avoid answering a question.

She always seems to know when I do that…

Tentomon and I followed Yamato back towards the dining area. I still walked with a slight limp, but it was getting better.

Puppetmon was in for the fight of his life.

I'd make sure of that.

~*~

I no longer slept in Kari's bed. Instead, I slept with Tentomon on the balcony. There were a couple of futons set out for us. Neither one of us could get used to willingly sleep inside a building with a large amount of people overnight.

Of course, _I_ was still getting used to the switch between being on my own for 16 digi-years with nobody but Tentomon to staying with a group of other humans and their Digimon.

I narrowed my eyes as I gazed at the stars.

I hate Fate.

I heard a faint step off to my right, like someone was trying to be quiet. I looked up to see Kari slip out of the large doors separating the balcony from the bedroom.

"What are you doing up?" I asked.

"I can't sleep. Agumon's snoring is keeping me awake."

__

'Why do I not believe you?'

I exchanged a glance with Tentomon. He seemed to smile knowingly as he shuffled out of his futon and laid down next to me. I hadn't asked him to move or anything, but he'd done it anyway.

"It's a little cooler out here anyway. It might be better than that hot room," Tentomon offered.

Kari looked a little surprised, then smiled in thanks. It was that strange smile of hers that I could tell meant happiness…but it was a little different than the smiles she gave the others.

"Thank you, Tentomon. You don't mind, do you, Koushiro?"

I waved for her to take Tentomon's bed. She laid down, and neither of us said a word for a few moments.

Finally, I had to ask what had been bugging me for the past 3 days.

"Kari…do you still have that locket?"

"Of course." She pulled it out to show me. "I don't ever take it off." Her eyes met mine. "Whose locket was it?"

I swallowed. Hard.

"It's personal," I answered evasively.

"I understand."

Kari didn't say anything for several minutes.

That's when she said, "Goodnight, Koushiro. Pleasant dreams."

I blinked, then answered, "G'night, Kari."

She fell asleep quickly after that.

I gazed up at the glittering night sky once more.

I was still watching the stars as I fell asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Alas, this may be the last part I write before I have to go on this lovely trip to meet relatives I didn't know I had. I'm so happy I could scream. :::waits for everyone to stop sweatdropping::: Also, I'm going to be writing a little side-story on my trip. It'll have to be written with good old fashioned pencil and paper, but it shall be written. Then it'll take a bit to type it up. Fun…This little side story will be titled "A Different Reality - Koushiro's Story". :::watches as Kyra, Kelly Moon, and a few others start to drool::: Just thought I'd tease you guys. maniacal laughter

Kudos to…

Kyra: Finish "Past, Present, and Future"! I'm begging you!!! That and "Gem Warriors"! Oh, yeah. Thanks for your never-ending support!!!

Her Royal Weirdness: I gave you spoilers. I shouldn't have done that. Well, thanks for letting me bounce ideas off of you!

Kelly Moon: :::squeeze::: You're so squishy! ^.^ Okay, thanks for being a fellow Izzy fan! Not to mention convincing me not to stop doing my other series with Junpuu!

Izzy: My muse! I bow before you!!!

Shameless promos…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: Home of the most original page names! -.-;;; Kidding, Kyra…However, I've asked you all this before, SUBMIT TO THIS SITE!

World Under Ours: A cool site done by Her Royal Weirdness! Home of many good yaoi/yuri fanfics! Yes, folks, I do like to read them.

The Crest of Knowledge: Raise your hand if you love Izzy shrines! :::raises her hand::: One of the best Izzy shrines out there! Submit, all Izzy lovers!


	12. A Different Reality Part 11

A Different Reality Part 11

by Cybra

A/N: I'm back! a few people clapping Thank you! Thank you! I know you're probably going to be disappointed in me, Kyra, Kelly Moon, and fellow Izzy-fans, but I could _not_ get that side story done! The reason is because…it's too long!!! I'm only on the part when Koushiro meets Motimon!!! D'oh!

Disclaimer: Ah, yes. The disclaimer. What can I say? I don't own Digimon.

Hey there! Matt here!

Been a while, hasn't it?

We left Piximon's camp after staying there for almost 2 weeks. We were ready for anything.

Well…_almost_ anything.

I looked back at Koushiro as he walked along slightly behind the group.

You're probably wondering who Koushiro _is._

Koushiro is the guy we used to know as Light Child. He was the one who saved us with his partner Tentomon all those times.

He also gives me the absolute creeps.

Those dark eyes of his don't look _at_ you, they look _through_ you. You can never tell what he's thinking or feeling at any given moment, and he doesn't say much about himself.

Out of all the kids I've _ever_ met, Koushiro intimidates me the most.

Even if he _is_ younger than I am.

Koushiro focused those dark eyes of his on me, noticing my stare. I turned back around and watched as our clueless leader (in my opinion) lead the way forward.

Tai was _not_ happy about something.

Gabumon gazed up at me. "Matt, there's something weird about Koushiro and Tentomon."

"What do you mean?"

"Tentomon told me that Koushiro was hiding something. Something important, but he didn't know what it was."

"Which is why I think he's trouble," I heard Tai grumble.

Kari slowed down so she could walk beside Koushiro. I watched in amazement as she easily fell into step…and Koushiro didn't say one word about it. Normally, he would've asked if one of us wanted something, but Kari didn't get the same treatment.

Weird.

I was getting a little bored, so I pulled out my harmonica. TK smiled as I blew into it, playing the melody I always play.

I accidentally glanced back at Koushiro and Kari to see Koushiro's eyebrows lift slightly as I played. Then, his face returned to normal. Tentomon buzzed beside his partner, not saying a word. Just like he had before, Tentomon was listening to the music.

There wasn't any talking while I played. I guess everybody just wanted to listen, but I was getting kind of embarrassed. I'd just wanted to play for myself. That didn't mean that everybody had to stop talking and listen.

A sudden crash caught everyone's attention. Tai gave a yelp as he leaped out of the way of a…

…a large woolly elephant?!

"That's Mammothmon," Tentomon calmly explained, like it was no big deal. "He's a fully-digivolved Digimon with a destructive attitude. It's always a good idea to avoid his 'Tusk Crusher' and 'Cold Breath'."

That's when Mammothmon decided to show us why it was a good idea to avoid his attacks.

"Tusk Crusher!"

The tips of his tusks flew towards us. We all rushed to get out of the way. TK ran towards the left, in the opposite direction of me, and ended up in Mammothmon's sights.

"TK! Look out!" I yelled to my little brother.

I saw a slight flash and heard a "beep-beep-beep". Mammothmon turned his attention towards the source…

Koushiro stuffed something into his backpack.

The redhead just looked at Tentomon for a second, and Tentomon nodded. He flew up high as Koushiro dodged Mammothmon's "Cold Breath".

"Blue Blaster!"

"Boom Bubble! Puff!"

"Pepper Breath! Poi!"

Mammothmon turned to face the new threat, but not one of those three attacks seemed to faze him. I ran over to TK.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

TK nodded, eyes still wide. I sighed with relief.

I watched as Tentomon digivolved into Kabuterimon and swooped down towards Mammothmon.

"Electro Shocker!"

"Cold Breath!"

The two attacks took out one another. I gripped my Digivice tightly. Gabumon quickly digivolved into Garurumon as TK and I ran for cover.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Tusk Crusher!"

Garurumon was faster than that walking carpet, but Mammothmon was stronger. Koushiro crouched nearby TK and I.

He hissed under his breath, "Shimatta!"

I prayed that TK hadn't heard that.

Guess what?

He had.

TK turned to me and asked me, total innocence in his voice, "Matt, what does 'shimatta' mean?"

I glared at Koushiro. He just shrugged.

He told me simply, "It slipped."

"TK, don't you ever repeat that word again. Do you understand?" I asked him sternly.

TK meekly nodded.

I turned my attention back to the battle. Kabuterimon and Garurumon had been joined by Gatomon and Greymon. The others were hanging back in reserve. Koushiro was muttering something about using too many Digimon, but I wasn't listening.

"Tusk Crusher!"

"Nova Blast!"

The two attacks barely missed each other, but Mammothmon's attack hit where Tai, Sora, and Kari were hiding. Joe and Mimi had to get out of the way of Greymon's attack.

I heard Tai's shout of **"Kari!"**

Kari had accidentally run out into the middle of the battle. The smoke created from when the attack had hit the ground must've caused her to lose her sense of direction for a moment. That was understandable, but she was right in the danger zone. Sora barely held Tai back from going out there himself.

"Tai, don't go out there!" Sora yelled.

"I have to, Sora! Kari'll get hurt!" Tai shouted, struggling to get free.

"No, she won't," Koushiro's voice told him. That cold voice held such confidence.

I tried to grab him as he ran past, but I wasn't fast enough. His sudden run towards the battle field had caught me off guard. He ran out into the middle of the fight.

"Kabuterimon, give me some cover!" he ordered.

"Can it wait?"

"Never mind! I'll improvise!"

During the brief conversation, our Digimon continued to attack Mammothmon.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Lightning Claw!"

"Nova Blast!"

That's when a sound that had no business being in the Digiworld reached my ears.

The distinctive sound of a gun being fired.

I turned my attention back to Koushiro and Kari to see Kari running just in front of Koushiro as they ran to safety.

I shook my head slightly.

I had to have been wrong.

I thought that I saw Koushiro holding some sort of handgun in his hand.

I watched as Tai's Crest of Courage glowed, allowing Greymon to digivolve to Metal Greymon.

"Giga Blaster!"

Mammothmon had already been worn down by all the other Digimon's attacks so he had no chance against Metal Greymon. Within seconds, there was nothing left of _that_ Digimon, but a few stray bits of data.

I sighed. We'd all decided back at Piximon's training camp that we'd bring in one of our Ultimates if we got into a fight with another Digimon _only_ if it was _absolutely_ necessary. I briefly wondered how this would affect the battle ahead.

~@~

That night, we were gathered around a campfire. All of us were pretty beat from the day's excitement.

Even though from looking at Tentomon and Koushiro, you'd think it was no big deal.

Of course, they must've had more practice than we had.

As the fire began to die down, I felt the chill of the wind at my back. TK shivered slightly beside me so I put an arm around him to keep him warm. Koushiro stood up with Tentomon and began to walk away.

"Where are _you _going?" Tai demanded.

Kari sighed at the way her brother was acting.

"To get some more firewood."

With that, Koushiro and Tentomon disappeared into the woods.

Tai just frowned and poked at what was left of the fire. None of us said a word. The group was all lost in their thoughts.

__

'Maybe Tai's right. Maybe we are_ being too quick to trust this guy,'_ half of my mind said.

__

'He's most likely being overprotective about Kari. Like I was before with TK. Of course, I still do it. More often than I like,' the other half of my mind pointed out.

I just shivered a bit and prepared to settle myself down to sleep. That's when I saw Koushiro and Tentomon walking back to our camp, a bunch of sticks in their arms. Koushiro didn't say a word as he set them down beside Tai to feed into the flames. Tai just nodded, but at the same time gave Koushiro a wary look.

I watched as Koushiro walked over and sat against a tree, pulling out his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard, making this cool clicking noise that reminded me of those flamenco dancers I saw on TV. Tentomon flew over and landed beside him.

Tai scowled as his sister and Gatomon went over to join Koushiro and his partner. I watched, interested.

"Koushiro?" Kari asked.

"Yes?" Koushiro answered, not looking up.

"Why don't you come closer to the fire? It's warmer."

"I'm fine. Thanks for the offer."

Kari just smiled at him. I glanced over towards Tai.

__

'Tai is not_ a happy camper,'_ I noted silently.

I looked back over at the two of them, noticing that Kari's eyelids were drooping as Koushiro continued to work on something. She sat down against Koushiro's side and closed her eyes.

I watched as Koushiro stiffened and looked to see what was against him. He raised both of his eyebrows when he saw Kari leaning against him. I guess he was a little surprised to see her there. She was probably already asleep, though. Tentomon and Gatomon were standing nearby, silently watching.

Koushiro looked over at his partner, locking the bug's green eyes with his own dark ones. After a moment, Koushiro rolled his eyes, and shut off the computer so he could return it to its normal spot in his backpack.

I fell asleep before I saw what happened next, but this is what I heard from Gabumon.

Gabumon told me later that Koushiro had kind of stayed awake for a little bit afterwards, just looking at the stars. Then, he'd fallen asleep himself. It must've been a nice picture…

…one that Tai would've destroyed Koushiro for.

~@~

The next morning, we were walking again. No surprise there. If we walked fast enough, we might be able to reach Puppetmon's mansion by sundown.

Everybody was doing pretty much what they always did. However, I decided to have a talk with Tai.

"Hey, Matt," Tai kind of grunted.

"Hey, Tai. What's your problem lately?"

Tai nodded towards the back of the group. I didn't have to look back to see what was bothering him.

I had a pretty good idea.

"C'mon, Tai. Relax. You're getting worked up over nothing. Besides, once we defeat Puppetmon, you'll be kicking yourself for acting so stupid."

__

That got the desired result.

"Are you saying I'm stupid?"

"Don't have to. _You _just did."

"Why I outta – !"

"What? Shoot me death glares?"

We continued to fight as we walked like that. Joe looked like he wanted to stop us, but I gave him a quick glance to tell him not to interfere.

A good fight with me always seems to loosen Tai up.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Well, here's the next part!!! Gomen for it taking so long!!! Don't expect Part 12 to be any quicker. School starts next Tuesday (UGH!), but I'll do my best, my faithful readers! By the way, you remember in my story "The Truth" when you caught a few glimpses of Kojiro and Ami Izumi, Izzy's parents? Well, I made up those names (plus those of Osamu and Junsa Izumi) for the purposes of that story. I just wanted you guys to know if you guys were planning on using those names. Just wanted a little credit. Is that too much to ask? J

Kudos to…

Kyra and Matt: Another tortured writer and her muse…who make every e-mail amusing. J I didn't even intend that one.

Her Royal Weirdness: Much cheering and bowing before you!

Dana-chan: A big glomp to you, my Angst Queen!!!

Kelly Moon: What were we talking about again? ;)

All My Readers: Without you guys, there wouldn't be a point to me writing. Now would there?

Izzy: I bow before thee!!!

Shameless promos…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: See Kyra's page. See submit section. Read submit section. See your fanfics. Submit your fanfics. -.-;;; I sound like one of those old "Dick and Jane" books.

World Under Ours: Ah, the joys of webpages! Very cool, Her Royal Weirdness!!!

Shadows Beyond Reality: The site that got me into liking Y stuff! A must see for any body who likes Y stuff.

The Crest of Knowledge: IZZY!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! :::is dragged off by men in white coats:::


	13. A Different Reality Part 12

A Different Reality Part 12

by Cybra

A/N: Woah…I'm actually going to do Mimi's POV again…scary…Still, I think it'd be kinda funny to see how she describes the fight with Puppetmon. Don't you agree? Also, I know I've been using "Horn Blaster" in all my fics as Megakabuterimon's attack, but I always thought it _was_ "Horn Blaster". I have seen the error of my ways and have changed it to the _correct_ attack of "Horn Buster". Thank you for your patronage!

Disclaimer: The idea behind this story is mine. The show…isn't.

Hi!

It's your good friend Mimi!

How are you doing?

Well, our group was doing okay as we continued to walk through Puppetmon's forest.

I didn't like all the walking we were doing one little bit.

The heat was starting to make my hair go all frizzy.

Not a pretty sight.

"Tai, can we please stop for a little while?" I asked.

"Mimi, we have to get there as soon as possible. Besides, we had plenty of time to rest at Piximon's place!"

I sighed. There was just no way I could get him to change his mind.

Palmon walked next to me. She looked okay with the walk. In fact, I think she was enjoying it.

I looked over at Sora, my best _human _friend. It was exactly like that time we were looking for the Seventh Child AKA Kari. She didn't look tired at all!

That reminded me that we were no longer 7. We were 8 now. I'm not normally superstitious, but I always thought that 7 is a luckier number than 8. We'd need a whole lot of luck to fight Puppetmon.

I didn't like the idea of fighting one little bit. We'd lost a lot of good friends that way. Yet lately, when we fought, we hadn't lost a single friend.

Maybe 8 _is _a luckier number than 7.

Tai and Matt soon began arguing about something, as usual, until Joe walked up and broke it up. I wasn't really paying attention to them as I thought about how my legs were going to look like a body builder's when this was all over.

"Excuse me, Mimi," a cold voice began.

I jumped. Koushiro had caught up to me and was waiting patiently.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to regain my normal look.

"Does Lillymon have any attacks other than her 'Flower Cannon'?"

"Uh…she used her 'Floral Wreath' when we were back home looking for Kari."

"Thank you."

I guess that's all he wanted because he slowed down so Tentomon could catch up. This resulted in him being at the back again.

__

'Okay, that wasn't too_ bizarre,'_ I thought sarcastically.

I shivered slightly. That guy gives me the absolute creeps.

Palmon looked up at me. "Mimi, why'd he ask that?"

"I dunno, Palmon…I don't – "

I was cut off when Tai announced, "This is it!"

In front of us was this truly _awful_-looking house. It looked like its upper windows were eyes, and it had this thick roof. The color scheme was absolutely _disgusting!_

"Ug-ly!" I commented.

"It looks like a fun house!" TK shouted.

I watched as a bush suddenly moved. It turned around to show us a kind of chicken with a blue head and white body. He wore this handsome red bow tie and a golden crown on his head. The bush was attached to his back.

"Who're you?" Tai demanded.

The bird raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Who're you?"

Koushiro stepped up to the front of the group. The Digimon looked surprised.

"Didn't think I'd see you again! How're you and Tentomon doing?"

"We're doing well. Deramon, these are the Digidestined and their Digimon."

Tai's jaw hit the ground. _"That's_ Deramon?"

Koushiro nodded. "Floramon should be joining us soon."

Deramon tilted his head to one side. "She's right behind you guys."

I turned to see this pretty little flower thing. She wasn't at all like Palmon. She was pretty skinny, but wasn't half-bad looking at all.

"What's going on?" Floramon asked.

"The Digidestined are here to get rid of that jerk Puppetmon!"

"Finally! I was thinking they'd _never_ get here!"

Matt cut in, "There's no time for small talk, guys. We need to get inside. Is Puppetmon home?"

Deramon shook his head. "No, Lord Puppetmon left a while ago looking for you guys."

"Excellent," Koushiro stated. "We'll have the element of surprise on our side, then."

Deramon began to walk towards the hideous-looking house. "C'mon in. Just don't touch anything. Puppetmon has booby traps all over the place."

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Koushiro began to talk to Floramon. I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Floramon, does Puppetmon have any of these?" He held out something to her.

"Yeah, he does. Uses them for that trigger-happy monkey-in-the-box of his."

"Do you think you could go get them and bring them back to me? We'll be killing two birds with one stone."

"Don't say that!"

"Sorry. Figure of speech."

"Oh. Well, apology accepted. Yeah, I'll get them for ya. Be right back!"

Floramon disappeared into another section of the mansion as we headed upstairs.

"'Trigger-happy monkey-in-the-box'?" I asked.

Palmon shrugged. "Beats me."

We soon found out what Floramon had meant.

At the top of the stairs, there was a little Jack-in-the-box. It suddenly popped open and this monkey with a machine gun popped out. He began firing at us.

"Oh, so _that's_ what she meant!" I yelped as we tried to get out of the way.

"Poison Ivy!"

Palmon's vines yanked the gun out of the insane monkey's hands, and threw it away. Agumon took a deep breath.

"Pepper Breath! Poi!"

Goodbye, monkey-in-the-box!

"Nice work, you two!" Joe congratulated as we made it up the stairs.

"You guys were awesome!" Sora added.

Palmon blushed. "It was nothin'."

~@~

Tai finished laying out the plan for us.

"Okay, so Matt, TK, Kari, Sora, and I are going to attack from the front with our Digimon. Mimi, Joe, and Koushiro will attack with their Digimon from the back. That way, he'll have too many targets to even think about a sneak attack from behind. Does everybody get it?"

We all nodded. Kari held up her hand like she was in school.

Ick. School. I don't like thinking about it.

"Tai, don't you think that we should kinda break up the second group?"

"Huh?"

Koushiro said, "I believe what she means is that we should have Mimi, Joe, and I spread out. That way, we've got him covered in case he tries to get away."

I shivered. I didn't like that plan at all. Splitting up was not one of my favorite things to do.

Tai looked surprised, but nodded in agreement. Kari smiled.

"All right then. Mimi, you, Joe, and Koushiro talk to each other about who goes where. _Don't_ tell any of us where you're going to be. We don't want to give away your positions by accident."

Koushiro nodded his approval as Joe and I nervously agreed.

"All right then, let's go get Puppetmon!"

~@~

"This is such a drag," I complained from my spot in a tree.

Palmon had already digivolved to Lillymon and was sitting beside me.

She smiled as she said, "Don't worry. Once Puppetmon's gone, we're halfway finished with the Dark Masters!"

I smiled at that. We'd only have two left. Afterward, we'd be able to go home!

I slightly frowned. Of course, that also meant that I might not ever get to see Palmon again. I didn't think that was a good thing.

__

'Worry about it later,' I ordered myself.

That's when I heard this noise. It sounded like…

"A train whistle?" I wondered aloud.

"I'll go take a look," Lillymon offered as she flew off.

I felt a little nervous sitting in that tree all by myself. What if Puppetmon came this way while she was gone? I'd be in big trouble then.

I heard a buzzing noise a few minutes later. I turned around to see Lillymon flying in my direction.

"It _is _a train!" She told me when she landed. "It goes to and from Machinedramon's city according to the passengers!"

I smiled. After we got rid of Puppetmon, we could take a nice easy train ride to that metal moron's place. No more walking!

There was a loud explosion as some dust flew towards us. Lillymon beat her wings a bit to blow some of the dust out of my face. I covered my eyes. After the dust cleared, I opened my eyes and looked over the battle.

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

MagnaAngemon swiped at Puppetmon with his sword.

"Puppet Pummel!"

I watched as Garudamon soared into view. She flew way up high.

"Wing Blade!"

The bird made out of fire, Garudamon's attack, flew down towards Puppetmon. We could barely see what was going on down on the ground, but we were getting a pretty good idea of what was going on.

I watched as Wargreymon tried to hit Puppetmon with his "Terra Force" attack, but the little guy was just too fast!

Puppetmon tried running away from his house. He was quite surprised when the large, ugly-looking rock he'd seen suddenly moved…

Zudomon had laid down so his shell was upwards and most of him was hidden by the forest. That way, anybody would mistake him for a large rock.

Well, it worked like a charm!

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"No fair! You Digidestined don't know how to play by the rules!"

"Oh, and you do?" Matt taunted.

Puppetmon began running in our direction.

"Now, Lillymon!"

She flew upwards and created that huge yellow flower in front of her.

"Flower Cannon!"

That cut off Puppetmon like a crazy driver on the interstate! He jumped back as this big hole appeared in front of him.

"Oh, no! Not another one!"

I don't know _what_ possessed me to say what I said next.

"Not so tough, are you, you piece of driftwood?!" I shouted.

"Mimi!" Lillymon shouted, shocked.

"Puppet Pummel!"

Lillymon gave a yelp, but began dodging the attack. I gave a yell and fell out of the tree. At least I could run for cover on the ground. Metal Garurumon came to my rescue with Matt on his back.

"Hop on!" Matt told me, leaning down to grab my hand.

I grabbed on, and he yanked me up behind him. Metal Garurumon took off into the air with Matt and I on his back.

"I hate this!" I screamed as I held on tightly to Matt's back.

Puppetmon decided to try to make it back towards his mansion. He'd have reinforcements there.

Wow! Listen to me talk! I sound like a general or something!

As we continued to chase Pinocchio's evil brother, Matt looked back at me.

"So, where's Koushiro?"

I wiggled my index finger and tsk'd at him. "Shame on you. Tai, told me not to tell either you, him, Kari, TK, or Sora."

Matt smiled as we suddenly went into a dive. I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped Matt tighter.

"See ya 'round, Digidestined! I've got a bunch of friends over at my place and they're ready for some fun!"

"Too bad you'll never get there," Koushiro's voice told him.

****

"Huh?!"

"Horn Buster!"

I opened my eyes as Puppetmon's hammer went flying. Garudamon caught it and smashed it in one of her feet. It was almost over!

Puppetmon grabbed his little puppet controller thing from his back and threw it at Megakabuterimon.

"Get out of my way! Puppet Pummel!"

I heard a loud "bang" as the tip of Puppetmon's nose was chipped off. He yelped in pain and forgot about his little controller thing…

…that is, until it hit him in the stomach.

"Metal Garurumon!" Matt shouted.

"Wargreymon!" Tai yelled.

Together they ordered their Digimon, "Finish him off!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Terra Force!"

The other Digimon decided to give them a hand. MagnaAngemon swooped in quickly and sliced into Puppetmon's back with his sword.

"Stop it!" Puppetmon cried. "You have to listen to me! I'm da boss!"

"I don't think so!" Lillymon shouted. "Flower Cannon!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Wing Blade!"

There was this _huge_ explosion! When the dust cleared, we were all on ground zero and the Digimon had all de-digivolved. We watched as the last bit of Puppetmon's data disappeared.

"We did it!" Joe shouted.

"We won!" I yelled happily.

I ran over and gave Joe a hug for no reason at all. Then, I released when I noticed Joe was blushing beet red.

"Sorry, Joe."

That's when the forest decided it was time to disappear. Palmon ran up towards us.

"Guys, there's a train station that should take us to Machinedramon's city! We gotta hurry before it's deleted!"

"Let's go then!" Tai yelled.

We began running at top speed towards the sounds of a train whistling. The forest was being deleted all around us. The same thing had happened with the ocean when we'd beaten Metal Seadramon. The forest, just like the ocean, would be put back where it belonged.

However, I didn't want to be right in the middle of this process!

The train station came into sight. It was an old-fashioned style train station with all these trains. They were so pretty! However, all I could think about at the time was making it _onto_ one of those trains.

As we approached the platform, the trains began to leave! Tai leaped onto the tracks and began to run after one of them. We all quickly followed.

The train wasn't going very fast, but it was picking up speed. Tai grabbed onto the caboose and pulled himself over the railing. He grabbed anyone and everyone who came close enough to him and pulled them on board as well. Matt and Joe were soon helping Tai as they began grabbing kids and Digimon. Koushiro grabbed onto Matt's hand and jumped up to grab onto the train, but he was still on the other side of the railing. He hadn't been pulled over yet.

Tentomon beat his wings furiously as he tried to catch up. That's when this red plant bounced into view.

"Just _where _do you think _you're_ going?!" the ugly plant laughed as he snagged Tentomon's leg.

"Oh, no! That's Redvegiemon! He's always red because he's _always_ mad!" Palmon explained.

I watched in horror as Koushiro let go of Matt's hand and jumped off the train. He rolled on the tracks and pulled something out of his backpack.

"Tai! He's got a _gun!!!"_ I shrieked in alarm as I quickly recognized what that something was.

Koushiro fired a few shots at Redvegiemon's arms, making him release Tentomon. The train was picking up speed by the second.

I heard Tai's shout of **"Kari, no!"** as she leaped off the train with Gatomon. The two of them rolled just like Koushiro did, but they had a bit rougher landing. The train began pulling away from the station at an even faster rate.

Joe grabbed Tai just as he was about to follow her. "Tai, don't! The train's going too fast! You'll get seriously hurt!"

"I have to go back and protect her!"

The train station went out of sight as we turned a corner. I was in shock. It had happened so fast…

Matt put a hand on Tai's shoulder as Tai began to fume. "Don't worry, Tai. I've got a feeling that Koushiro's going to take good care of Kari. We'll see them again at Machinedramon's city."

__

'We hope,' I added silently.

The scenery around us changed into a desert, but the train was still going. We were on our way to Machinedramon's city.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: What did I do to her?! I made her sound weird!!! Oh, well. I did my best! Can you believe I wrote this all in one hour? Woah…scary what happens when I have an idea on where this is going!!! J

May all bow before and worship…

Kyra: One of my fave authors and one of my best online friends!!! And in friendship I have to say…:::grabs Kyra's shirt collar::: **finish "Past, Present, and Future" or add a new part to "Gem Warriors"!!!** :::lets go:::

Her Royal Weirdness: Another of my fave authors and another of my best online friends! Thanks for letting me bounce demented ideas off of you! I'm doing my best to be a good muse! Izzy's been giving me a few pointers. ;)

Kelly Moon: One of my best online friends, fellow Izzy worshiper, and an author who's kinda starting out! Thanks for everything, and good luck with your muse Tai! By the way, what's your name again? J

Izzy: My muse! My inspiration! My idol! :::begins bowing, Izzy is seen sweatdropping:::

My shameless promos…

Kyra's Fanfic Archive: I **love** the makeover! Very spiffy! Very cool!!!

World Under Ours: Her Royal Weirdness-chan's site! That's a mouthful. Well, it's got all sorts of spiffy things with a new Jyoushiro shrine!!! Or so she tells me…if only Freeservers would stop being so busy!!!

The Crest of Knowledge: A place you can find this whole series plus my other one! A very nifty Izzy shrine!!! :::looks at the page::: You caught Izzy, Kelly Moon!!! I wanna catch him!!! ;)


	14. A Different Reality Part 13

A Different Reality Part 13

by Cybra

A/N: 13! My lucky number! Especially on Friday the Thirteenth when I'm wearing black!!! It's the dreaded Thursday the Twelfth that I fear. Well, off we go!

Disclaimer: :::grabs a lawyer by the throat::: I don't own Digimon!!! Do you understand?!?!?!

Gatomon ran to help Tentomon get free of Redvegiemon as I ran over to Koushiro. His eyes only looked at me for a second before he focused his attention back on Redvegiemon. He aimed and shot the gun in his hand at a spot near Redvegiemon's body.

"Lightning Claw!"

Tentomon flew out of the red plant's grasp and turned around.

"Super Shocker!"

"Lightning Claw!"

There was nothing left of Redvegiemon (except for a few stray pieces of data) after those attacks hit.

I forgot to do something…but what…oh, yeah!

It's me, Kari! Sorry about that!

Tentomon landed beside Gatomon and shook her paw.

"Thanks for the assist. I couldn't turn around to attack."

"No problem. Glad to help."

I turned to Koushiro. He looked as calm as normal.

I briefly wondered if I should be worried.

That's when the forest changed into a desert. Koushiro looked as surprised as I was. I could tell from his eyes.

"Let's get moving," was all he said.

As we began to walk in the direction that the train had gone, I asked, "Aren't you mad?"

"About?"

"About me jumping off the train to stay with you."

He thought for a moment. "I am…upset. However, there's nothing I can do about it now. You made your decision and I have to live with it."

The words kinda stung, but I realized this was the exact opposite of what Tai would've said. He would've been giving me the lecture of my life. This was one of the only times I'd ever gone against what Tai had told me to do.

This is going to sound _really_ selfish, but…

…it felt great!

Koushiro put his handgun in some spot in his backpack. We continued to walk (or, in Tentomon's case, fly) through the blazing hot desert. However, I noticed this slightly cool breeze hitting the back of my neck.

It took me a moment that Tentomon was flying behind Koushiro and I. His wings were creating that cool breeze I was feeling.

Koushiro's eyebrows suddenly arched upwards for a second like he'd forgotten to do something, but only now remembered. He moved his head back and forth to look at the three of us.

"If anybody feels like they need to rest at any time, say something. Don't try to tough it out in a desert. You'll end up dehydrated or worse."

Gatomon, Tentomon, and I nodded in agreement. There wouldn't be much water around here since this _was_ a desert.

It was pretty hard to walk across the sand. My feet would sink into it, then I'd have to lift my feet high up in order to walk. Gatomon was walking on all fours, using her larger paws like show shoes…or, rather, sand shoes. She could walk on top of the sand…unless she hit a soft spot. Then she'd fall in over her head and hop out again.

The sun beat down on my right arm. After about an hour, it felt like it was burning.

"Wish I'd brought my sun block," I muttered.

Gatomon looked at me, confused. "What's sun block?"

Koushiro looked at my arm. "Looks like you're getting a sunburn. Do you usually burn easily?"

I shook my head. "Not when I have a tan."

"Same here. Of course, being in the shade of Puppetmon's forest so long doesn't help."

I noticed that Koushiro had a sunburn on the back of his left leg. He began looking around. Then he looked at Tentomon.

Tentomon nodded and buzzed way up high into the air. My eyes widened. That never failed to impress me.

"How do you guys do that?"

"Do what?"

"You just look at each other and it's like you talk…only you don't say a word."

"We get a lot of practice."

I smiled as I looked down at Gatomon. "That'd be neat if we could do it. Huh, Gatomon?"

"Yeah," Gatomon agreed.

Tentomon swooped back down, shaking his head. The bug Digimon seemed to be disappointed, but Koushiro just smiled with his eyes.

"It's okay. I'm sure you tried your best."

Tentomon shrugged, but said, "On the plus side, the sun will be down soon."

"Excellent. Traveling by night will help." Koushiro turned to Gatomon and I. "Will that be okay with you two?"

We nodded. There wasn't really much else we could do. We'd all fry if we kept walking in all this heat.

I knew the reason why we were doing it the hard way. If our Digimon needed to fight, we couldn't have them worn out from carrying us. Even though flying _would_ be much easier.

"There's some sort of road about fifty yards to our right," Tentomon told us, pointing with his claw. "It'll be a slightly-faster walk if you didn't have to drag your feet through sand."

"Great!" I said.

We all began the walk at a diagonal. That way, we'd still be going forward, but also would be heading towards the road. We weren't going very fast because of the sand, but also because we were going at an easy pace. That way, we wouldn't wear ourselves out as fast.

However, our pace went a little faster when we finally got onto the road.

~@~

You want to know what I learned?

It's _cold_ in the desert at night!

However, it felt _really_ good on my sunburn.

I had taken my pink bandanna off a while ago when it had gotten too hot to wear it. Now, I put it back on.

Gatomon had managed to find a cactus-like plant covered with these spiny fruits. If it hadn't been for her, we never would've been able to get at them. She had stabbed several of them onto her claws, and shaken all the spines off.

The fruit had to be one of the most _delicious _things I'd ever tasted. Even though it had had spines all over it, it was this kind of pale orange color that hid a sweet-tasting center. It kind of reminded me of those little Sweetarts candies that you get in the stores.

Even though the air was much cooler at night, we were still on alert. It meant that predators would be coming out. I didn't want to find out just how mean those guys were.

Yet, I felt safe. Gatomon was here and so were Koushiro and Tentomon. I was kinda scared, but I wasn't terrified. The feeling reminded me of when Tai would tell me everything was all right after I'd had a nightmare.

Thinking of Tai made me miss him. I wondered how he and the others were doing. I bet he was hopping mad when I jumped off the train like that. I wondered if he was still mad. Or if he was extremely worried.

__

'But that's one of the reasons why I did it,' I reminded myself.

I have to admit that I had two selfish reasons for jumping off that train. Well, two selfish reasons and one desire to help Tentomon get free. I believed in Koushiro's abilities, like he'd said he believed in mine, but I had been worried that Tentomon and Koushiro might get hurt by Redvegiemon.

My two selfish reasons were that I wanted to prove to Tai that I could take care of myself without him and I wanted to be near Koushiro.

You see, I kinda have this crush on him…

"I'm sure Tai and the others are fine," Gatomon whispered, somehow reading my mind.

I smiled at her and she smiled back. It's kinda weird, but it's almost like we can read each other's minds sometimes.

I yawned, feeling sleepy. I wasn't used to staying up this late walking. Koushiro slowed down a little with Tentomon.

After exchanging a quick look with Tentomon, he told me, "I apologize for pushing you so hard, Kari, but I don't like the feel of this desert. We were lucky Gatomon found that fruit and we saved some, but eventually our supplies will run out."

I smiled. "It's okay. I understand. I just need time to get used to late-night walking."

Koushiro did that smile with his eyes again. It's like he only smiles for Tentomon, Gatomon, and I. I don't completely understand why, but it makes me feel good.

Is that selfish, too?

~@~

We continued to walk late into the night. Gatomon was falling asleep on her feet. Tentomon looked about the same as he flew. I was the walking dead…or so it felt like. Even Koushiro looked tired.

I heard Koushiro ask himself, "A bus station?"

I looked up to see this bench with an overhang. It was out in the middle of nowhere…but that bench sure looked good right now.

"This'll be the perfect place to sleep for the rest of tonight and into tomorrow," Koushiro suggested.

I sat down on the bench and closed my eyes. Gatomon curled up beside my feet. I heard Tentomon land and Koushiro sit down.

Within moments, I fell asleep.

~@~

I slept for hours. The overhang provided just enough shade so daylight never really hit my eyelids. Someone moved beside me, shaking me a little on accident. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Is it time to get up already?" I muttered, not quite awake.

"Sorry, Kari," Koushiro's cold voice apologized.

I woke up completely to find myself leaning against Koushiro, just like I had done yesterday morning. I looked around and noticed that the sun was high in the sky.

"Try to get a little more sleep. We'll be walking during the night again."

"What about you?"

Koushiro didn't answer for a full minute before he said, "I'm going back to sleep in a few minutes. I need to check something on my computer."

I closed my eyes and listened to the quick "click-click-click" noise of Koushiro's fingers rapidly pressing down the keys on his laptop. I briefly wondered how much of a battery charge he had left on that thing, but was still a little too sleepy to ask. Besides, it would've been rude. After a few more minutes, I heard the "click" as he shut the laptop.

Soon afterwards, I fell asleep again.

~@~

"-ri! Kari! Kari!" Gatomon's voice shouted to me.

I woke up to see her worried blue eyes in my face. I gave a slight yelp before she leaned away from my face. She was perched on the back of the bench. I was lying flat on the bench's seat.

My Digimon friend sighed with relief. "You scared me there for a while!"

"Why?"

"You got really hot and you wouldn't wake up…"

That's when I noticed that I felt a little sore. What had happened to me?

Koushiro leaned over towards me and put a bare hand on my forehead. He frowned slightly for a minute.

"Your fever's gone down since the air got colder, but I still don't like it…"

I sat up and quickly realized what was wrong. I could've kicked myself.

You see, I hadn't come to the Digiworld from summer camp with the others because I hadn't _gone_ to summer camp. I'd come down with a cold (or so my parents told me) that prevented me from going. I must've been having a relapse.

"You feeling all right?" Tentomon asked, concerned.

I nodded. "I just feel a little sore."

Koushiro shook his head. "That's probably left over from last night, but that might be a symptom of the flu or something."

I visibly jerked, realizing something. How long had Koushiro been living here? Would he get sick?

As if reading my mind, Koushiro reassured me, "I had all my flu shots before I left for the Digiworld."

"How long ago was that?"

"Uh…16 digi-years ago. I don't know how long that is in Earth time." He looked up at Tentomon. "Up for a little night flight?"

Tentomon nodded.

I immediately argued, "I can walk."

He looked at me sternly. "I have no doubt that you _can _walk. However, we don't want any Digimon to get any ideas on a quick meal. I've been thinking about this all day before I learned you were sick. We're safer in the air than on the ground."

"Not to mention the view will be better," Tentomon commented.

I laughed at Tentomon's joke, but coughed a little bit. Gatomon smiled, but she was obviously slightly concerned. I wasn't as bad as I had seen some people be, but she didn't know that. I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Besides, a little extra rest will be just what the doctor ordered," Tentomon said before Koushiro could speak.

I thought about it for a moment. They hadn't been planning this because I was sick. They'd been planning this because it was dangerous walking through the desert at night. It _was_ a good idea to go by air…Besides, it would be kinda nice to see what the desert looked like from above.

"What if the Digimon need to fight?" I asked.

"We'll take Kabuterimon. Gatomon has had more experience which makes her invaluable in a fight. By taking Kabuterimon, we leave her with enough energy to digivolve to Angewomon if necessary," Koushiro answered easily.

"Let's go!" I cheerfully yelled before breaking into a new coughing fit.

Tentomon digivolved to Kabuterimon and stood still as we climbed onto his back. Soon, we were high above the desert, flying towards what looked like city lights in the distance. I sat next to Koushiro with Gatomon on my lap.

I was incredibly happy that Koushiro had given me a chance to take care of myself and make my own decisions. I couldn't help noticing the difference between Tai and Koushiro. Tai would've made all the decisions for me, but he did that out of love, and I'm glad he cares enough to do that. Koushiro let me make my own decisions, but also made sure that I didn't do anything stupid.

__

That's how I wish my brother would treat me. Maybe some day, he will.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Can I get any more cheesy?!?!


	15. A Different Reality Part 14

A Different Reality Part 14

by Cybra

A/N: Been a while hasn't it? I thought Part 14 to my little series would appease some people…coughwhowouldkillmeifIdidn'tcough Anyway, here it is from Joe's POV.

Disclaimer: Sadly, Digimon does not belong to me. But I'm not bitter. begins swearing

It's me Joe again.

I can understand that Tai's still mad about Kari jumping off the train after Koushiro.

After all, my brother Jim would probably try to strangle me if I did something that reckless – not that I would – and he caught me.

But challenging Machinedramon isn't a good way to let out your anger…

"Giga Cannon!"

Wargreymon held up his armored arms to block the attack. Still, he was pushed back slightly from the force of the blow. Metal Garurumon ran to his aide immediately.

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

I glanced down at Gomamon who was resting in my arms.

The battle had been going on for at least an hour.

"Feeling better?" I asked my Digimon partner.

His big green eyes looked up at me tiredly. "Sure am," he answered, minus his usual enthusiasm.

"Why do I not believe you?"

Mimi was in a crouched position next to me looking away from the fight and tending to Palmon at the same time. Palmon wasn't looking so good. When she'd been Lillymon, she'd almost had her wings clipped when Machinedramon's "Giga Cannon" attack blew past her, causing her to tumble from the sky. She'd de-digivolved since her energy level had run out.

"MagnaAngemon! Look out!" Garudamon shouted as she flew towards the angel Digimon.

"Bear Claw!"

I'd almost forgotten about Warumonzaemon. This was a nightmare to end all nightmares!

__

'When we get back to Earth, we're all_ going to be in need of some serious therapy.'_

Garudamon plummeted towards the ground as the attack hit her wing. I heard Sora screaming Garudamon's name, but at the last second, the large bird-like Digimon opened her wings and barely managed to glide over us before she crash landed. She glowed for a moment and de-digivolved into Biyomon.

We were down three. Only three Digimon on our side left.

I glanced towards the east, expecting Kabuterimon and Angewomon to swoop in and give us a hand like Kabuterimon with his human partner Koushiro always did.

They still didn't come.

Maybe they'd been delayed.

Or worse. Maybe they'd been destroyed.

I shuddered as I considered that option.

No, Kari, Koushiro, and their Digimon were still alive. Something inside me told me that.

But right now, I just wanted the Calvary to arrive.

MagnaAngemon swung his sword at Warumonzaemon, but had little effect. However, it was obvious that the two Virus type Digimon were wearing out as well. Metal Garurumon and Wargreymon fought their hardest against Machinedramon, but weren't having much luck. They couldn't get close enough.

That's when the Calvary arrived in the form of a large, bright red fox.

"River of Fire!"

The flame attack caught Warumonzaemon off guard, causing serious injury. The large, evil bear howled in pain as the fire licked his body. 

"Vulpesmon!" Tai shouted to our friend.

I silently thanked whatever gods were out there for sending us him at the right moment. We could've been killed!

The large fox nimbly dodged various attacks from Warumonzaemon. The Ultimate form Digimon was really moving! It was like he was in spot one second, then in a totally different spot the next!

"River of Fire!"

"Gate of Destiny."

The flame attack threw Warumonzaemon into the portal leading to oblivion. I grinned, hope returning. Maybe we would win this one…

…but what about the coming fight against Piedmon?

Out of all the Dark Masters, I'm the most terrified of Piedmon. He's a sadistic clown who you _wouldn't _want to meet in a very dark alley! Trust me! If you see Piedmon coming and you don't have a squadron of Digimon with you, turn around and start running!

"Go get 'im, Vulpesmon!" Gomamon shouted.

Much to my surprise, Mimi began sobbing. I was completely bewildered. We were going to win – or at least get out of this one alive! Why was she crying?

I kneeled down beside her. "Mimi, what's wrong?"

"Remember…the last fight we had…with all the Dark Masters together?" she sniffed.

I closed my eyes and nodded. Flowerfairimon had been a brave Mega Digimon who'd sacrificed herself to protect us. She'd been a trainee of Piximon's from long ago.

I soothed, "Vulpesmon won't die, Mimi. He'll be careful."

"Flowerfairimon was careful, too! And look where she is now: dead!" Mimi sobbed.

Gently lowering Gomamon to the ground and attempting to block out the sounds of battle behind me, I wrapped my arms around Mimi in a hug. I felt extremely uncomfortable doing this. After all, I'm the worrier, not the comforter. The job of comforting had mostly fallen onto Sora's shoulders, but she was busy checking on Biyomon. Inwardly, I moaned. No hope for rescue.

Mimi clung to my sweater vest tightly, crying for all she was worth. On the outside, I was soothing her and trying to calm her down. On the inside, I was thinking about how badly my vest would shrink after this.

"Giga Cannon!"

The bright ball of energy flew right towards Mimi and I! I immediately shoved us both aside and Vulpesmon attempted to block the attack with one of his own, but the blast missed us by a few meters.

The force of the explosion tossed debris everywhere. A rock hit my lower leg, causing me to scream in pain. All the while, I shielded Mimi with my body. Mimi was screaming that high-pitched scream of hers which she uses whenever she's terrified. Not scared, terrified.

Larger chunks of concrete from the city street flew towards us, but these were blocked by Palmon and Gomamon.

"Marching Fishes!"

"Poison Ivy!"

Wargreymon and Metal Garurumon took the opportunity to attack.

"Terra Force!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

Thankfully, Machinedramon began to disappear in a shower of loose data. However, it still wasn't good enough. Debris was still flying everywhere. Digimon continued to try to protect us children.

One particularly large piece of debris hit me in the back. My teeth clenched, but I couldn't hold back the pain. My vision began to grow dark.

The last thing I heard was Mimi saying, "Joe? Joe! Guys! Joe's hurt!"

~@~

It figures.

I black out because of pain…

…and I wake up because of pain.

The first sensation that reached my body was a burning pain in my back. I moaned and attempted to move, but someone held me still.

"Don't move, Buddy," Gomamon's voice instructed me from somewhere past my closed eyelids.

"What do you think, Sora?" Tai's voice asked.

"I don't know, Tai. Joe's one studying to be a doctor, not me," Sora answered from somewhere.

"Oh. Yeah."

"Duh, Tai."

"Shut up, Matt!"

"Make me!"

I forced one of my eyes open to find myself lying on my stomach. Gomamon's worried green eyes were among the first things I saw.

I don't think I've screamed in fright because of him since the day I first met him.

I looked up to see Matt smirking.

"Well, that's normal," he commented.

Tai shot Matt a dirty look before asking, "How're you doing, Joe?"

I didn't try to move as I answered, "Not good."

That's when I realized I was on something soft and furry. I forced open my other eye to see a slightly-wounded – and a worried cream-colored – Vulpesmon sitting patiently about a foot away from me. Everything from my chest up was on top of his busy tail. Obviously, he'd offered to be a pillow.

Vulpesmon turned his face towards me and gazed at me with worried chestnut eyes. "Am I in a bad position for you?"

"Nope. You're in the right spot. Thanks."

"No problem."

Matt waved for my attention. I turned back to him.

"Uh…Joe? We took off your vest and shirt since you were bleeding underneath them, but…well…we don't know what to do from here. It looks pretty bad to us, and we don't want to make it worse…"

I winced. "How bad is it?"

"What does a huge bruise and a large bleeding cut that isn't bleeding anymore tell you?"

"Not too bad." I gave them instructions on how to clean and cover it step by step. I really, _really_ didn't want them to mess up. That's all I'd need: to be crippled for the rest of my life just because my friends messed up on fixing up my wound.

I noticed Mimi holding onto Palmon tightly, looking away from me. Perhaps she was giving me some privacy. I appreciated the gesture if she was, but it wasn't necessary. Of course, she could've been grossed out.

TK came into view with my vest and shirt, minus whatever bloodstains they'd had before. Of course, both were still soggy from where he must've cleaned them in that stream I heard nearby.

Wait a second.

****

Stream?!

I then noticed that Machinedramon's city had disappeared, leaving behind a meadow of some kind. I reached out and petted Gomamon absentmindedly as I looked around and waited for the guys to finish.

~@~

A few hours later, we were on our way towards Spiral Mountain at a very slow rate, wanting to take our time. Our Digimon were exhausted and needed the break. Koromon and Tsunomon – so exhausted from the last battle that they'd de-digivolved into their In-Training forms – slept in their partners' arms. I carried Gomamon in my own arms as we searched for a place to sleep. Patamon was sleeping on TK's head. Vulpesmon was carrying Biyomon and Palmon since they were too big for Sora and Mimi to carry for long distances.

Mimi had been silent the whole time, not once complaining about the walk…which worried me. Of course, I always worry.

"Mimi, what's wrong?" I asked.

"I – I'm sorry, Joe!" she blurted.

I blinked. "For what?"

"I shouldn't have just sat there crying! You got hurt because you were protecting _me!_ Please forgive me…"

I sighed. "Mimi, these things happen. Besides, I'm still in one piece, thanks to you guys. Before I blacked out, I heard you calling for the others to help me. I'm grateful that you did that!"

Mimi's chocolate brown eyes met mine, obviously wanting to see if I was telling the truth. I smiled. She smiled back, relieved that I'd forgiven her for a wrong she'd thought she'd committed.

Despite everything that had happened, I couldn't help but feel a little more confident inside. After all, I'd been nearly blasted to bits by Machinedramon's attack and had survived.

Perhaps we _did_ stand a chance against Piedmon.

A/N: I have _not_ given up on this series, people! I just got stuck for a while! I hope you enjoyed the death of Machinedramon! Joe-fans, sorry I beat up the poor guy, but I thought I'd give him a really good part. ^^ And I can't believe I dropped a Jyoumi hint in there. Ack! My mind is warped!!! Before Part 15 shall be "A Different Reality – Intermission: Piedmon"! Since I wrote most of Part 15 out during a stupid bomb threat, it should be out soon!

Kudos to:

Kyra – Thanks for being a pal, woman! And I won't kill you for not e-mailing me back!

Her Royal Weirdness – Thanks for letting me ramble on and on to you! Here's a noogie of appreciation! :::gives HRW a noogie:::

Kelly Moon – Thanks for being you! I won't kill you for not e-mailing me back, either! ;) I am kind!

Shameless promos (I'll make these quick since I'm very lazy today…): Kyra's Fanfic Archive, World Under Ours, and The Power of Knowledge (Kelly's new splash page to her Izzy and Cody pages!)!


	16. A Different Reality -- Intermission: Pie...

A Different Reality – Intermission: Piedmon

by Cybra

A/N: Now, _this_ is going to be a challenge! Piedmon's POV! This won't be as long as "A Different Reality – Koushiro's Story", but about as long as the normal parts if not shorter. Just Piedmon's thoughts on the whole situation as it is now! Then, the curtain shall rise on the final act!

Disclaimer: I do not own Piedmon or other characters or places associated with Digimon except those new characters never heard of before. You may now read the fic!

I am Piedmon, the most powerful of all the Dark Masters and the only one left.

However, I am not worried about the group of six humans and seven Digimon approaching me.

Oh sure, they have destroyed Metal Seadramon…

…but they'd had one more human and that Gatomon instead of the Vulpesmon walking with them now in their numbers in order to do _that._

Actually, I believe that it was rather fitting for Metal Seadramon to have been deleted first. After all, he was a fool. The seas make up a large part of the Digital World, so how could he have hoped to have complete control over them?

The group approaching my home also has defeated Puppetmon, but they had two more humans, the Gatomon, and one more Digimon. Of course, Puppetmon was too childish to ever _hope_ to control his area. He spent too much time playing with his minions to bother keeping up some sort of order. Still, he _did_ manage to last far longer than Metal Seadramon had.

Nevertheless, this group of children and Digimon walking towards Spiral Mountain _did_ manage to defeat Warumonzaemon and Machinedramon. I'll give them that accomplishment.

However, they are certainly no match for me. I don't fear them at all.

Still, there is _one_ Digidestined child that I find to be a worthy adversary:

The Digidestined of Knowledge, Koushiro.

I still remember when he and his digital partner Kabuterimon swooped in on me at my home. It was literally a suicide run. Both knew that if they managed to delete me, they probably wouldn't get out of there alive.

And yet, he _knew_ that I was the one who was mostly in charge and without me, the rest of the Dark Masters would crumble.

Rather impressive.

Koushiro and Kabuterimon had me cornered during that fight. I would've met my maker…but Puppetmon had returned from play early.

Of course, to add insult to injury, Machinedramon and Metal Seadramon had intervened as well after having returned from _their _earlier engagements early.

Despite all four of us Dark Masters being there, Koushiro and Kabuterimon _still_ managed to slip out of our grasp! They escaped – _Alive! _– but wounded. The rest of the Digidestined had been unable to pull off the same feat _combined_ without the sacrifice of one Flowerfairimon. She had been a bold Mega Digimon, but was still far too weak.

I had originally thought that I'd never hear about the Digidestined and Digimon of Knowledge again until Puppetmon began complaining that someone was stealing his ammunition. I immediately put two and two together and made four. Koushiro had personally attacked me with a gun – which most likely needed that same ammunition someone was stealing from Puppetmon. I instantaneously grew a slight admiration for his cunning.

What surprised me was that Koushiro and Kabuterimon mostly stayed low, obviously waiting for something. Perhaps they'd been waiting for their backup? Anyway, they also had the most unusual – yet _annoying _– habit of appearing just when my fellow actors and I needed to see them the least.

I had originally thought that my life was going to be slightly boring after we'd conquered the Digiworld.

However, whatever great Casting Director there is hand chose Koushiro to be the thorn in my side. He didn't act rashly like the other Digidestined often times do. Instead, he calculated every move, calculated every decision and – despite my best efforts – managed to stay at least one step ahead of me.

As you can imagine, my slight admiration of the boy grew into a great admiration.

When I'd told Koushiro when he'd attacked me the first time that I'd finally found an adversary worthy of me, I'd been hoping I'd flatter him into making a mistake. However, he _still _watched me with those cold, calculating black eyes of his, somehow knowing I was plotting something. Still, he was surprised when Puppetmon attacked. (The little fool had _finally_ learned that stealth was an advantage, but he never truly used it again!)

As a final alternative during that same battle, he had Kabuterimon digivolve to Megakabuterimon and take out the floor. Fortunately, I managed to stick one of my swords into the wall. However, it was _still_ humiliating that I had to hang there until Puppetmon gave me a hand.

That is another thing I admire about this boy: His ability to think on his feet.

None of the other Digidestined could ever _hope _to think up such a suicidal plan which would almost work.

As you can see, I think rather highly of Koushiro, but not very highly of the rest.

The reason is that Koushiro and Kabuterimon _alone_ have managed to humiliate and aggravate we Dark Masters far more than the other Digidestined _combined._ Even though he's been there longer, you would think that the larger group would be the problem!

Oh, I _still_ remember the day after I first met that boy face-to-face! Lowly Digimon would whisper and snicker to one another. They'd say how funny it was that a small boy and his Digimon could escape _all four_ of the Almighty Dark Masters.

The boy gave them hope during a hopeless situation for them.

Even worse, I've heard that even some lowly Digimon in our own forces helped him! Malcontents have been caught stealing from us just to help out that boy! Never in my life have I admired and hated one person so much!

Truly, the Keeper of the Crest of Knowledge is an exceptional actor in the midst of this fine comedy of errors.

I once personally destroyed a drinking establishment owned by a Garimon that Koushiro and his digital partner were known to frequent for mostly unknown reasons. She hadn't been happy with my decision to do so, of course, but still managed to get away. How did I know about that place? I tortured a Gazimon trader in order to find out if he'd seen Koushiro anywhere.

Needless to say, that trader is being recycled at the moment.

What aggravates me the most about that boy – yet manages to cause me to respect him more – is his ability to stay at least one step ahead of me!

I pride myself on there being nothing in the Digiworld that I don't know about. I watch everything through my telescope on top of Spiral Mountain. One thing I've noticed is that Koushiro – unlike the other Digidestined – does not fight every battle as if it were predestined. His fights appear to be random and desperate, but are actually just unusual. He fights these battles like a Digimon does to protect his home.

Interesting…I would say that Koushiro has been here for at least sixteen digi-years (the entire length of time we Dark Masters have been ruling), so perhaps he _does_ think of the Digital World as his home.

Perhaps I can use that against him in the oncoming battle.

Of course, that's doubtful.

As I gaze through my telescope now, I watch the larger group of Digidestined walking towards Spiral Mountain. I do not see their Seventh Child or Koushiro with them. However, I noticed earlier that the Seventh Child had leaped off of a moving train after Koushiro had, so they were most likely together somewhere.

I take a sip of my martini calmly, but I can't help wondering where that smaller group was. Koushiro was the most annoying – yet still powerful – of all the Digidestined. Perhaps he was teaching that Seventh Child a few of his tricks.

That's all I need: Another Koushiro.

However, I suppose it could be worse. He _could _be with the larger group now.

Which reminds me, I need to send them a welcoming committee.

I take another sip of my martini.

__

'The actors have been chosen and are now in place. Now, the curtain must rise on the final act.'

A/N: Well, that was different. Of course, it was kinda cool trying to think like Piedmon!

Kudos to:

Kyra – :::hugs Kyra::: You're a pal! Not to mention a great writer! You _will_ put up part three of "Past, Present, and Future" soon, right? Right…?

Her Royal Weirdness – Another one of my best online friends!!! I bow down and worship you! :::bows down before HRW:::

Kelly Moon – I'm on a roll lately, aren't I? Yet another one of my best online friends!!! sniff I love you, man! ;)

My sister (codename: Spam) – Thank you for giving me the word that became my newest catch phrase: "Huzzah!" :::people look at her funny::: Well, Izzy has "prodigious" and Yolei has "perfecto" :::winces at that word:::, so why can't **I** have a catch phrase that everyone knows me for?

My muse Izzy – You're the best, man! I'm sorry I forgot to mention you in my last part, but I'd be completely defeated without your knowledge, wisdom, guidance…:::continues sucking up:::

Shameless promos:

Kyra's Fanfic Archive – Mucho fanfics. Huzzah…*.*

World Under Ours – Another site full of fanfics, but also includes a few couple shrines! Very spiffy! Double huzzah!

Power of Knowledge – The splash page to Kelly Moon's two websites: The Crest of Knowledge (an Izzy shrine) and The Heir to Knowledge (a Cody shrine)! Triple huzzah! Now if only I can convince her to do a Ken shrine…^^;;; I'm pathetic.


	17. A Different Reality Part 15

A Different Reality Part 15

by Cybra

A/N: Part 15…wow…I'm this far into it…Anyway, first off, I'd like to apologize to everybody for a mistake I made in my "Episode Rambles Version 3.0". I received the wrong information on Tailmon, and I repent of my sin of stating she was a guy. Thanks goes to Kat-chan for being kind enough to point it out _nicely_ to me and not biting my head off for my mistake. Second off, I'd like to say that "Episode Rambles Version 4.0" shall not be appearing this week. I had to tape last week's episodes, and my tape ran out of space just when the recap for the second episode was starting! Grr! So, it's a waste of my time to only ramble on one new episode. If there isn't a new episode next week, I most likely won't have "Episode Rambles 4.0" up until a week after Christmas. :::ignores the people rejoicing in the audience::: Lastly, I'd like to apologize to the Daiken/Kensuke fans out there for a line that upset a few of you in my "Together At Last". I needed a name and I typed down the first one that popped into my mind. Gomen!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but the A Different Reality series idea is _mine! All mine! Nobody else's!!!_ insane laughter ALA crazed Quatre

"Shimatta!" was the first word to escape my lips as I watched Machinedramon's city disappear in flurries of separated data.

I was half-pleased, half-angered by the fact that the third Dark Master had been defeated. That left only Piedmon, but I needed a pharmacy or hospital _right now._ Kari had gotten a little better, but she still needed medicine.

__

'The irony of the situation just kills me,' I thought bitterly.

Commander Yosho's voice came back to haunt me yet again. His voice boomed in my mind, "All right, Izumi, you've got a problem! Now, how are you going to solve it?!"

I reviewed in my mind what I had to work with. My satchel contained various healing items, but not one of them would be useful in this situation. They healed physical wounds, and I _didn't_ have any that healed sickness. Kabuterimon was flying us high above the forest that used to be the Dark Master Machinedramon's city and would run out of energy soon. Gatomon could digivolve to Angewomon, but I doubted she'd take the energy required from Kari with the girl being sick. Besides, Angewomon doesn't have the "Magna Antidote" technique that I've heard about.

"Now what do we do?" Gatomon asked as Kari went into a new fit of coughing.

__

'Good question. Wish I had an answer.'

That's when an idea came to me. I shouted to my digital partner, "See if you can locate somewhere we can trade for medicine!"

"Will that place work?" Kabuterimon asked, pointing ahead.

It was a large building with a set of large doors. An inebriated group of Gizamon stumbled out, chattering loudly to each other. A Kuwagamon seated at a table outside swallowed the contents of a tankard of ale before he raised his arm to order another.

I smiled inwardly. "Perfect…"

~@~

When we landed, Kabuterimon de-digivolved into Tentomon. Gatomon looked at the building and back at me. She didn't seem bothered by it. Kari glanced around, then looked curiously at me.

"You mean Digimon have bars too?" Kari asked.

"Yes. Now, let's get inside. Tentomon?"

"I'm all over it," he answered as he flew on ahead.

I turned to Kari. "Whatever you do, keep calm. Some Digimon become rather violent after just one or two drinks. If you're asked to move out of the way by a drunken customer, just move. Do not, I repeat, do _not_ try to start a fight. A drunken Digimon is twice as dangerous as it normally is. Is that clear?"

Kari nodded, her eyes taking in the sight of the Kuwagamon – now ordering his fifth ale – swaying in a nonexistent breeze. He belched quite loudly after swallowing his newest tankard. As he stood to fly off, he left the appropriate amount of digi-dollars on the table. He shakily took off into the air, hiccuping slightly.

I shook my head. Some people had no control whatsoever. I glanced once more at Kari before we walked inside the building.

The realization that I was leading the girl into one of the more dangerous – not to mention, less honorable – places in the Digital World struck me as we reached the interior of the building. Drunken Digimon slouched in chairs and on barstools. Some had passed out on the floor due to having imbibed too much alcohol. A few Nanimon were singing (or at least attempting to sing) a merry, old drinking song. Their voices were so far off key that I'm certain my hearing shall never be the same. Shouts of "Another round of beer!" and "I can handle jusht one more!" echoed off the walls.

The decor of the room looked familiar, but I dismissed that. I was more concerned with something far different. The reason that these types of places were so dangerous was because Digimon's tempers flared up at the drop of a beer mug here. If you thought fighting them when they're _sober_ was tough, fighting against an inebriated Digimon is a hundred times worse.

__

'I have no choice. I just wish Kari had some type of weapon in case she and Gatomon became separated…'

As we looked for Tentomon, a large Digimon slapped me on the back with his large paw, almost knocking me over in the process.

"Koushiro! Drink with me before we battle again!" the drunken (and annoyingly familiar) voice of Grizzlosmon bellowed, the decibel level of his voice hurting my already aching ears.

If you remember Ursumon, you will probably know Grizzlosmon as well. For those of you who don't, Grizzlosmon is the previous stage of Ursumon. He is a large, fat, and powerful bear Digimon. This particular Grizzlosmon I had fought many times before. He has the most irritating habit of appearing when I wish to see him the least.

"I don't drink," I reminded him, my voice calm.

He ignored me and gazed down at Kari, his eyes cloudy. "And who is _this_ pretty creature? I haven't seen her before."

Grizzlosmon was now breathing directly in the poor girl's face. She swooned slightly from the stench of alcohol on his breath (unless it was the small of his breath that caused it).

Much to my surprise, she held out her hand as she said politely, "My name is Kari. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

The large bear pulled her small form into a bear hug. She squirmed only a little before he let go. He turned to me.

"You take good care of this sweet little thing, Koushiro! That's an order!"

"Yes, I will do so, Grizzlosmon," I answered patiently.

Tentomon buzzed up to me and whispered, "There's a Gazimon at a booth in the back who has what we need and is willing to trade. Also, this is apparently Gary's new tavern."

Garimon – this particular one called "Gary" by friends – looks like a Gazimon at first glance. However, four major differences separate a Garimon from a Gazimon: attacks, type, color, and gender. Garimon use ice attacks and are of the Vaccine type, a turquoise blue color, and female.

"Excellent. We can ask her to keep an eye open for Kari and Gatomon if there's trouble."

"Already done. I'll keep Grizzlosmon busy while you start trading."

"Good. Just keep an eye on your drink if you order anything. We don't want a repeat of last time."

Tentomon shudder at the memory of becoming completely intoxicated when Grizzlosmon had slipped more and more alcohol into his drink. Trust me, helping a Digimon get over a hangover is no fun. You do a lot of ducking.

My partner led Grizzlosmon away from us as I turned to Kari and Gatomon.

"Gary always serves something for a thirsty or hungry traveler that doesn't contain any alcohol. You can ask her for something if you feel like it."

"Actually," Kari began, "I'd like to help you, if that's okay."

"Suit yourself, but just watch."

"Okay."

I knew without asking what Gatomon would do: She'd stay near Kari. This place was a hazard to anyone, but especially to her partner. Not only was she smaller than most of the Digimon here, but she was sick on top of that. Who knew if and when she'd get worse?

I realized it was a mistake in bringing her here. I should've made her and Gatomon wait somewhere relatively safe until Tentomon and I had returned. I'd been foolish. Very, very foolish.

__

'Too late for that now,' I reminded myself. _'Still, this means that I get to go through my punishment for making a mistake again so I don't repeat this mistake. Rapture…'_

~@~

I admit that trading with Gazimon brings me great pleasure. They truly are the best. They accept nothing of low standards so you can guarantee that you received goods of excellent quality. They examine everything offered carefully – a technique I borrowed from them – to make sure they don't get cheated. My only problem with Gazimon traders is that they ask multiple questions about what's being offered, and if you say the wrong thing, they turn you down.

You're most likely wondering to yourself why the Gazimon traders behave more like Data type Digimon than Virus types. It's true that Gazimon are normally very mischievous and even downright malicious, but Gazimon traders have been able to overcome these natural traits. They are, in fact, benevolent Viruses. Perhaps all Gazimon traders are a completely different breed of Gazimon (maybe so much that they truly _are_ of the Data type), like German shepherds and collies are different breeds of dogs. Perhaps the benevolent behavior they've repeated over and over has become a sort of mutation in the species, making the Gazimon traders far different from normal Gazimon.

"Hmm…" the trader in front of me said, examining my latest offer. "Very nice…"

I held my breath just as I had been doing repeatedly for the past hour. Kari shifted slightly next to me, knowing to keep quiet. Gatomon was sitting next to her, drinking a glass of milk she'd ordered.

"Deal."

I took the bunch of Metal Greymon's Hair – a sort of moss – from the Gazimon as he placed his new prize into his pack. Gary, as if by magic, appeared beside the table.

"Hello, all!" she cheerfully greeted us. "What'll it be?"

Handing her a little bit of the moss, I asked, "Could you brew some tea from this? It's for Kari."

"Sure thing." She turned to the girl beside me. "Wanna help, Kari?"

Kari smiled. "Sure!"

Turning back to the Gazimon and I, Gary asked, "Anything else?"

"A brandy," the Gazimon stated.

"Water," I told her.

"Right-o! C'mon, Kari, let's get these orders filled."

Gatomon left with Kari and Gary before returning a few minutes later, our drinks in hand and her tail wrapped tightly around another glass of milk.

"I thought you were with Kari," I stated.

"Gary's promised she'll take good care of Kari, and I think I can trust her. Besides, I thought I'd bring you two your drinks so Gary doesn't have to. She's getting swamped."

I heard a loud _thump_ as Grizzlosmon finally passed out. I turned to see Tentomon fly over to the bar to get another glass of something. Judging from how straight he flew, Grizzlosmon had been unsuccessful in slipping any alcohol into his drink this time.

As I gazed at the bar, I noticed, much to my secret amusement, Kari writing down orders for different patrons at the crowded bar. She occasionally took a sip from a mug – logically, it must've been her tea – and would make a slight face at it. (Tea made from Metal Greymon's Hair is indeed a bitter brew to swallow. This makes me wonder how cough syrup tastes these days.) Gary looked harassed as she continued to fill mugs, tankards, and other assorted glasses.

An earlier thought came back to me unbidden. I leaned towards the Gazimon, fully aware that Gatomon was watching me. "What sort of weapons do you have?"

He blinked in surprise, but answered, "Only little things. Mostly knives."

"Show me."

He laid out each knife one by one. After the third knife, I spotted the perfect one. The blade gleamed as it was pulled out of its fine leather scabbard, the covering having a braid of leather tied on to it so the owner could tie the knife around his waist. The thin handle was obviously designed for the use of a smaller hand than that of a male's.

As I examined the knife, he was explaining the different details of each knife thoroughly. "…This one's designed especially for a female's use. They're mostly used by – "

"I want this one."

"Uh…Didn't you just hear me? This one's suited for a _woman._ I suppose you could use it, but male hands are generally a little larger than female ones. The handle's so small, it'd probably slip out of your hand…"

"I heard you before. Now, I'm willing to trade _this_…" I laid an Angemon's feather (one of the several "souvenirs" I'd collected from Takeru's partner which the angel Digimon had lost during battle) on the table. "…for _that."_

His eyes widened in surprise. "Koushiro…that's too much for this knife. I won't take it."

"Then, what _do_ you want?"

"I'll take the silver band you offered earlier."

Why did he say the feather was too high a price? While the knife I wanted to buy was expensive, it wasn't anywhere as valuable as an Angemon's feather. These feathers – when ground up and used in a broth – can create a powerful healing potion that heals battle wounds. The potion couldn't heal sickness, but it can heal a broken arm twice as fast as a human body can. (I know this from personal experience.) Silver can't do that.

"Deal," I agreed, taking the knife.

When the Gazimon left, Gatomon asked, "Why'd you want the knife? No wait. Don't answer that. It's for Kari, isn't it?"

I nodded. "In the fight with Piedmon, you may become separated from her. She needs a weapon just in case."

A Gorillamon and a Scorpiomon began to battle, effectively ceasing any further conversation. I don't know what started the fight, but all Gatomon and I could do was start to dodge attacks that were _way_ off-target. Within moments, pure chaos reigned supreme. I fired a few shots and Gatomon attacked as we pushed our way through the crowd.

"Ice Blast!" Gary shouted as she attacked, a blast of ice shooting from her mouth.

Kari stood behind Gary, hand reaching for any sort of weapon while keeping her eyes on the crowd. I recognized that as one of _my_ moves.

"Super Shocker!"

"Lightning Claw!"

"Ice Blast!"

I managed to reach the bar as Serpentramon reached for Kari. Before I could fire a shot, she threw a bottle of Tequila in his face.

"Not bad!" I shouted as I jumped over the bar.

"Thanks! I took some pointers from you!"

"I noticed!" I handed her the knife in its sheath. "Use this to help force your way out of here! Gary!"

"Don't worry, Koushiro! I'll be fine!"

"Good! Tento! Gatomon! We're outta here!"

~@~

About an hour later, we were nursing several bruises, cuts, and other injuries.

"That was…different," Kari commented dryly. "Do you go through that often?"

"Not very often, but often enough," Tentomon stated.

"Oh. Well, you better have this back, Koushiro." She started to hand me the knife, a small look of disappointment in her eye.

I held up a hand, stopping her. "Keep it. It's yours now."

Kari's brown eyes widened for a moment. "But you'd be better with it," she protested.

"You handled yourself with that very well, Kari. Besides, that knife is designed for use by someone like you. It belongs to you."

She hesitated only a minute more before she tied the cord on the sheath of the knife around her waist. Gatomon unsheathed the knife for the briefest of moments before nodding her approval and replacing the knife.

Kari smiled at me. "Thank you. That was really nice of you to do this."

"It's a tool for your survival, Kari," I stated. There was a pause before I added, "But you're welcome."

~@~

"Izumi! Step outside with me!" Commander Yosho's voice snapped.

It was the old familiar dream I'd had many times before. I stood up, my fellow trainees staring at me. I'd made a serious blunder…

…now it was time for my punishment.

*How do I know this?* a familiar voice that was not part of my memory wondered.

I knew that voice: It was Kari's. She'd asked me what I dreamed about since I'd awoken in a cold sweat the night before. I didn't tell her, and she had said she wished she could see what I was dreaming about. Afterward, I'd seen her Crest glowing faintly underneath her shirt, but had thought nothing of it. Apparently, it did hold some meaning.

__

'Please don't let her see the whole thing…' I prayed silently.

My full attention turned back to the content of my dream. I stood in a secluded room with Commander Yosho. He glared at me. "We do not permit failure, Izumi! Is that clear?!"

"Yes, Sir!" I shouted.

"Then you know the consequences of a mistake…"

My mind screamed at me to run away from the man before me. He was going to hurt me again. No question about it. I should've tried to get away, but obedience had been drilled into my head by these little "lessons". I had been in the program for almost four years (about a week before I first entered the Digital World) when this punishment had originally happened.

*Run away! He's going to hurt you!*

I stood still as Commander Yosho came closer. Why fight it? It would only make it worse. These punishments were how the trainees in line. After all, the soldiers on the base were outnumbered at least four to one. Fear is a good way of making someone do what you wanted them to.

My mind reeled as my superior rabbit-punched me in the stomach. Kicks and other punches were quick to follow. I bit my lower lip until it bled in an effort not to scream. Yet, through it all, I didn't run away.

*No! No, stop! Please!*

As I lay huddled on the floor, waiting for the next brutal kick, I heard a whimpering come out of nowhere. It took me a few minutes to realize it was me. "Stop…please stop…"

Commander Yosho ignored my pleas as he continued my punishment. Instead of being a little less brutal, he became more so. My eyes squeezed themselves tightly shut as the beating continued.

The whole time, I couldn't move. Other instructors had been doing this sort of thing to me since day one of this Hell that I lived in. Kari's pleas went unheard by the participants in my memory. I prayed that she would think of this as just some nightmare.

Finally, the pain stopped as Commander Yosho turned away and walked out of the room, leaving me alone. I should've left as well, but I was still lying there on the floor in terrible pain. For the first time in a long time, I heard my own soft whimpering. It was frightening to me to be so weak, to not be able to control my pain.

That's when I finally awoke.

~@~

Kari stared at me, wide-eyed. I casually wiped my brow, hoping she didn't see the sweat there. That nightmare – despite my best efforts – continues to terrify me. No Dark Master could frighten me like Commander Yosho did.

"Koushiro…what was – ?"

She never finished her question as I began to fill some sort of pull on my body, like someone had me connected to a rubber band and was yanking me back to them. Kari yelped, obviously feeling the same experience. Gatomon awoke with a yowl of surprise, and Tentomon woke up with his talons digging into the ground. Then, remembering what he was supposed to do in the event of an attacker, he tossed me my backpack, my computer, handgun, and ammunition stowed safely away inside. Kari instinctively grabbed for something in an effort to stop the pulling. What she grabbed was my satchel.

The pulling increased. I began to feel disconnected from my body, a little light-headed. It was as if my very soul – if I had one – was being pulled out of my body.

That's when my world became darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: What happened to Koushiro, Kari, Tentomon, and Gatomon? I know, but I'm not telling! :P However, if Kyra's reading, she's going to die of happiness when she reads whose POV it is next time! Originally, it was supposed to be TK's POV, but I decided against it. ^^ Huzzah! Cliffhangers are fun! It should be a shorter wait this time because now…I'm on winter vacation!!! Huzzah!

Kudos to…

Kyra – I've got a secret, and I'm not telling! P Ha ha! Anyway, e-mail me sometime! I'm lonely!

Her Royal Weirdness – Thanks so very much for letting me bounce ideas off of you and for giving me spoilers to your series! :::bows before the Almighty HRW:::

Kelly Moon – You never write! You never call! ;) Just kidding. Anyway, thanks for being you!

Kay – Thanks for the nice (and weird) e-mails you send out every so often! I get a kick out of reading what you have to say! ^^ I forgot, do you have a website? I'd like to add it to my list of "Shameless promos". All my links were deleted when my parents got a new computer! In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, **argh!**

My muse Izzy – :::bows before Izzy::: I am nothin' without you! I need someone to obsess over and help me write! You're a prince!

Shameless promos (Who says I don't support my friends?)

Kyra's Fanfic Archive – An awesome site filled with fanfic goodness! Also has character shrines to Cody and Izzy! Huzzah!

World Under Ours – Another awesome fanfic site! Mostly yaoi and yuri for those types of fans! Double huzzah! (As you can see, my word processor is the program I use most often on my computer for when I read all this stuff! ^^;;;)

Power of Knowledge – The splash page to The Crest of Knowledge (An Izzy shrine! Huzzah!) and Heir to Knowledge (A Cody Shrine!)! Very nicely done! Triple Huzzah!


	18. A Different Reality Part 16

A Different Reality Part 16

by Cybra

****

A/N: Howdy, y'all! Have I driven you totally crazy yet, Kyra? ;) Well, this little story line has been playing in the back of my mind for a long, _long_ time. I just never could figure out how to do it until after I was finished with my Chemistry Honors final exam and my brain was still in thinking mode. I thought (and, no, it didn't hurt) that I could slide this story right in after I had finished "A Different Reality Part 15" and just leave aforementioned part on a cliffhanger! So, I whipped out my notebook (which I now carry almost everywhere) and jotted down the idea before I could lose it. Huzzah! This story is set at some point AE (After Emperor).

****

Dedication: Ah, yes! A dedication! More stalling before we get to the main story! (This ought to drive Kyra up the wall!) I dedicate this part of the "A Different Reality" series to Kyra, one of my first – if not _the_ first – Digimon fanfic writer friends! Also, this part is dedicated to The Talismans of Knowledge Mailing List, the mailing list for both Izzy and Cody! Kyra is the list director (or whatever it is), so contact her if you want to find out more! ^^ She named it after a Sailor Moon/Digimon crossover I sent to her, which I might post up here at some point.

****

Disclaimer: I do not own the original idea of Digimon. I own this twisted up version of Digimon! The characters I mostly borrowed, but _I_ twisted a few personalities and pasts in order to suit my purposes! Anyway, the show aint mine, so send your lawyers away!

Traveling through the gate to the Digital World has always been exhilarating, but it has _never_ felt like someone was pulling on me.

We had been planning on going for a picnic with Joe and Izzy, but Ken couldn't make it at the last minute and Izzy had made plans prior to our invitation. However, Joe (thankfully) _could_ be there for the trip into the Digital World. We'd asked all the older kids a few weeks before, but none of the others could make it either.

Once I arrived in the Digiworld, I realized the others were not with me. My Digimon partner was nowhere in sight either. I called out their names one by one, hearing them answer me from different directions.

As I walked in the direction of Joe's voice – the one that sounded closest to me and it sounded as though my Digimon friend was with him – I almost tripped over a fallen tree branch. I quickly regained my balance to be met with an unusual sight: A girl barely younger than I was lying on the ground.

She looked like a younger version of Kari, actually. She wore a yellow, tank top-like shirt with pink shorts and pink sneakers. A light pink bandana was tied around her neck along with a whistle. A golden chain around her neck glittered as a little bit poked out from beneath her shirt. I noticed a sheath for a knife tied securely around her waist. A well-made satchel lay not too far from her.

The girl was unconscious, but quickly waking up. I called out to my friends.

"Guys! There's another human here and she looks kinda like Kari!" I shouted. My voice sounded strained just like it always does when I shout.

"Don't worry! We'll be right there, Cody!" Armadillomon called, his voice sounding like it was coming closer.

How rude of me! I forgot to properly introduce myself! I'm sorry…

My name is Cody Hida.

~@~

The Kari look-alike's brown eyes swept over each of us warily. It was obvious that she wanted to make sure if we were friend or foe.

"Wow! She really does look like Kari, doesn't she?" Davis asked, starry-eyed.

"Of course I do," she snapped angrily. "That's because I _am_ Kari."

Kari blinked. "No, you're not. You look a lot like I do at that age, but you can't be me since I'm right here."

TK stood there thinking until he snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea! Come here, uh…Kari. I need to check something out."

I noticed the girl's hand had been slowly moving towards the knife. She almost had a grip on the handle when TK grabbed her wrist. Instantly, she began to struggle and try to break out of his grasp. Veemon fidgeted beside Davis while Gatomon did the same beside her partner.

"Let her go," a cold voice ordered from behind and slightly above us.

Tentomon and a _second_ Gatomon came out of a tree behind us and went to free Kari's younger twin. The Gatomon punched TK's arm, causing him to cry out in pain and release the strange girl. She grabbed her knife and looked ready to stab anyone who came too close. From what I could tell, she could wield her weapon well.

Davis turned around to see a kid seated on one of the tree's highly upraised roots so the pair was at eye level with each other.

The boy looked like a younger version of Izzy. However, while Izzy's red hair was short and trimmed cleanly, this boy's red hair was in a wild style and it obviously had to be longer. Coal black eyes glared into Davis' wood brown ones. The boy wore an orange, button-down, long-sleeved shirt and khaki shorts. Green socks highlighted his Lightning Bolt shoes (the shoes having gone out of style several years ago). He also wore yellow gloves on his hands and a backpack with a yellow Pineapple computer on his back.

"Woah! This guy looks like a copy of Izzy from the _first_ time we came to the Digital World!" TK exclaimed, amazed.

That quick, the Izzy duplicate's hand reached into his backpack and pulled out a handgun, cocked it with one hand, and aimed it at Davis' head right between the eyes.

Davis gulped as Joe stated, "A lot _meaner_ copy of Izzy!"

Ignoring these comments, the boy asked coldly, "Who are you, and how did we get here? And answer quickly." All of us stood in numb shock until he added, "If you don't answer soon, I'm afraid your friend here will lose his life."

His words were ruthlessly cold…

…and extremely effective.

"Uh, I'm TK," TK began. He pointed to each of us as he said, "And these people are Kari, Cody, Joe, and Yolei. The Digimon's names are Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Patamon, and Gatomon. The guy you're pointing the gun at is Davis."

"Hi," Davis squeaked, eyes focused completely on the gun barrel.

Joe answered the second question. "As to how you got here, we don't know."

Our gun-wielding visitor narrowed his onyx black eyes for a moment before he un-cocked the gun and put it away. He jumped off the tree root, showing that he was only slightly taller than I was.

The Kari look-alike blinked as the Gatomon scratched the back of her head. The girl walked up to the boy and asked, "That girl over there…" She nodded towards Kari. "…looks like an older version of me."

"Hmm…this could be one of Piedmon's tricks…"

Joe flinched at the name "Piedmon". "Trust me, it's not a trick. Here, Piedmon was defeated four years ago."

The younger Kari's eyes widened with hope. "Does this mean that we've somehow been taken to our future?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I knew Izzy four years ago and he doesn't act like your friend acts," TK answered.

The redhead's eyes narrowed once more. "My name is not 'Izzy'. It's 'Koushiro'."

If there's only one thing I know about Izzy, it's that he absolutely _hates_ being called by his first name. He thinks "Koushiro" sounds stupid.

This person was definitely _not_ Izzy's past self.

"You guys must've come from some other universe," I reasoned, speaking slowly.

Everyone turned his or her attention to me. Davis looked confused. "What do you mean, Cody?"

"Koushiro" merely nodded in agreement with me. "This is a possibility." He turned to his human companion. "That pull we felt must've been some kind of gateway to this parallel dimension."

Wait a minute. Pull?

They'd felt a pull, too? I asked them about it.

The Tentomon nodded. "It woke us all up!"

Kari's eyes widened. "Then something must've gone wrong with the Digiport! When it sucked all of us here, it somehow pulled you along with us."

Koushiro cursed under his breath, but I still heard it. I'd always been taught that you shouldn't curse, and I wondered where he'd learned to use such language.

The younger Kari looked up at her older double. "My name is Kari, too, but I guess I'll have to go by 'Hikari' for now, just so nobody gets confused."

Our Gatomon smiled at her twin. "Looks like we're going to have to answer to 'Gatomon' at the same time until someone clarifies who they're talkin' to."

Hikari's Gatomon shook her head. "Not necessarily. In our world, there's a kind of offshoot of our kind called 'Tailmon'. I guess I'll go by that for a while. Still, if I don't answer, just yell my real name."

Hikari smiled at her Digimon partner. "Tailmon", as we were now calling her, simply smiled back. Tentomon buzzed beside Koushiro, looking worried.

"Koushiro, we need to back to our universe pronto," he murmured, thinking nobody could hear him.

But I heard him.

"Don't worry," I told him, causing him and his partner to turn and look at me. "We'll get Izzy and Ken on it as soon as possible. Maybe they know something about what happened."

Davis nodded. "Hey, yeah! When in doubt, call up the two geniuses!"

Everyone sighed at this.

~@~

About a half-hour later, Ken and Izzy were sending e-mails back and forth to us as they tried to piece together what had gone wrong with the Digiport. Izzy – who'd been caught in the middle of a computer seminar – had run out of the seminar, thankful to be free. Ken was also happy to get out of what he'd been doing. (He'd managed to finagle his way out of shooting a soft drink commercial.)

Everything they tried ended up failing.

I noticed Hikari talking with Kari about something or other while Tailmon and Gatomon were wrestling nearby. Everyone was busy, but I soon noticed Koushiro and Tentomon walking away from the group.

"I suggest we find out what's eatin' them," Armadillomon told me sagely.

"Good idea."

We ran to catch up with the boy and his Digimon. Despite the fact that Ken was no longer the Digimon Emperor and was helping us, the Digiworld was still a dangerous place. Our new enemy – Arachnemon – had reactivated the Control Spires so the digivolving process was blocked. She might try to attack us.

We walked behind the two misplaced partners before Koushiro sighed and told me, not even bothering to turn around, "I know you're there. If you want to tell me something, get up here and say it."

I exchanged looks with Armadillomon who shrugged. We jogged a bit to catch up.

Once we reached the pair, I noticed Koushiro fooling with his gun. Upon giving it a closer look, I noted that the gun had to be at least a .38-caliber handgun. My father – when he was still alive – had been issued a .38 by the police chief. However, I didn't have a good enough view to see if the gun _was_ a .38.

"Where'd you get that, anyway?" I asked.

Koushiro shot me a quick glare. "That's classified information."

Okay…

Tentomon glanced at Koushiro before a sudden crashing noise caught our attention.

"Oh, great! Not Cyclonemon!" Armadillomon snapped angrily.

The redhead next to me gripped his Digivice. I began to shout a warning, but it was already too late.

"Tentomon digivolve to…"

Just like normal, the digivolving process was blocked. Tentomon remained in his Rookie form. Koushiro raised an eyebrow, then aimed his weapon and began to open fire on the large Digimon in front of us.

I knew what I had to do. I didn't like it, but I'd do it.

I guess this is why I had received the Digiegg of Reliability.

You see, since Ken was no longer the Digimon Emperor, the Dark Rings and Dark Spirals no longer existed. Arukenimon was using the remaining Control Spires to create Digimon of her own.

"We're gonna need Digmon for this job!" I told my partner.

Armadillomon nodded.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" I shouted as my D-terminal opened, releasing a purple light and activating the Digiegg of Knowledge.

"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to…Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

The first display of emotion that I'd seen from Koushiro crossed his features. His eyes widened in complete and utter shock and amazement.

"Digmon can take care of this," I told him.

Koushiro blinked and lowered his weapon, his eyes returning to their normal emotionless state. However, he still held the gun in his hand, ready to aim and fire when needed. Tentomon hovered beside him, ready for action.

Briefly, my mind wondered why Tentomon had been unable to digivolve. It was obvious that Arukenimon had transformed a Control Spire into Cyclonemon. I looked around.

There. I could see it through the spaces in-between the trees.

Another Control Spire.

Obviously, Arukenimon had not been pleased with the natural digivolving of Veemon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon and had decided to block that ability.

"Gold Rush!"

Digmon's attack brought me back to the present where Cyclonemon and Digmon were locked in a fierce battle. Cyclonemon had attacked with his "Arm Bomber" attack. Thanks to Digmon, the evil Digimon's attack didn't hit us.

"Digmon can't keep this up for long. He needs backup," Koushiro stated. I nodded.

As if on cue, a familiar voice shouted, "Fire Rocket!"

Fire balls flew past us and hit Cyclonemon in the side. He roared angrily and turned towards Flamedramon.

Flamedramon had not come alone. In the air above him flew Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, and Halsemon. I smiled. The whole team was here.

Kari rode on the back of Nefertimon as the sphinx swooped in to attack.

"Queen Paw!"

It seemed to me that Nefertimon's attack had more of an affect on Cyclonemon than Digmon's constant attacks.

"Of course," Koushiro muttered, "That sphinx must be at a higher level than Digmon, like Cyclonemon most likely is."

It made sense. Technically, when Armadillomon, Veemon, Hawkmon, and Patamon Armor Digivolved, they were moving up to a kind of Champion level. Gatomon was already at the Champion level, so that must mean that she digivolved up to a kind of Ultimate level. Still, after facing Okuwamon, we knew she wasn't _exactly_ like an Ultimate, but strong enough to face off against one and do a little more damage than the rest of our Digimon could do. If her attacks were more effective than Digmon's, Cyclonemon's level had to be at least Ultimate.

"Wind Mane!"

"Tempest Wing!"

"Fire Rocket!"

"Gold Rush!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

Gato…uh…Tailmon added her attack along with Tentomon.

"Super Shocker!"

"Lightning Claw!"

That was just enough to take out Cyclonemon. I now noticed Hikari standing next to Koushiro.

Soon, our Digimon partners had de-digivolved into their normal forms. The Koushiro Izumi of another dimension turned to me.

"You and Armadillomon handled the situation well," he complimented.

"Thanks."

My D-terminal beeped before anyone else said anything. I pulled it out and noticed I had a new e-mail from Izzy. It read: "Cody, we're ready to try again. Try passing through the Digiport. If this works, it should send the two extra Digivice signals back to their original place. Sincerely, Izzy."

"Izzy says that he and Ken might've figured it out. We're supposed to go back through the Digiport," I told them.

Kari walked over to Hikari and held out her hand. "Then we should at least say 'goodbye' in case this works."

Hikari smiled and nodded. She held out her own hand and shook Kari's. "It was nice to meet you, Kari. And thanks for everything."

I had little idea what the younger girl was talking about, but I had a vague idea. Kari must've told Hikari about how the older kids defeated the Dark Masters. We finished saying our goodbyes quickly, then walked over to the nearest TV after grabbing our picnic items.

"All right, guys! Digiport open!" Davis shouted.

I felt a sudden pull on me as we began to pass through. I heard the surprised shouts of Koushiro, Hikari, Tentomon, and Tailmon behind us as we were sucked into the blue light coming from the TV.

~@~

As I began to fly out of the computer, the first things I saw were Ken and Izzy's faces. Izzy gave a yelp of surprise at the same time Ken made what sounded like the squall of a startled alley cat. Both of them twisted and tried to leap out of the way, but it was far too late.

We all landed in a heap on top of them.

"Hey! We made it!" Davis reported.

"Wonderful. Now get off!" Ken ordered. His voice sounded strained.

I turned my head to see Davis' elbow jammed into Ken's stomach. That must've been painful.

After a few moments to disentangle ourselves, Izzy straightened his tie, standing up at the same time like most of us were. TK sat down in one of the computer chairs.

"So, Izzy, what happened?" TK asked.

"It's actually very simple," Izzy began. "When you opened the Digiport, there was an unexpected power surge which increased the power of the Digiport. This caused a slight malfunction."

Ken picked up the slack when Izzy stopped. "Apparently, Koushiro, Hikari, and their Digimon were close enough to the location you wished to be transported to in their world which caused the Digiport to recognize Koushiro and Hikari's Digivice signals. The two universes must've chosen that moment to briefly converge on one another, causing them to be sucked to our version of the Digiworld along with their Digimon."

"Of course there's another reason why as well. The power of the Digiport could've been recognized by a powerful being and whatever that being was directed it towards those two," Izzy added, shrugging. "In order to send those two back, we needed to reverse the process which brought them here."

"This included having to send a power surge into the computer as you traveled from the Digiworld back here," Ken stated. "By repeating the accident, the Digiport sent them home. Apparently, the two universes were still slightly converged or it never would've worked."

That's when I noticed the slight burns on both of our friends' hands. "Where'd you get those burns?"

The older one of the two shrugged. "That's what you get when you mess with wires and shock yourself a few times."

A slight whimper from one of the Digimon – Demiveemon to be specific – alerted us that the Digimon needed something to eat. Everyone sighed. In-training Digimon can be bottomless pits.

Our former enemy stood and stretched. "I'd better go. Goodbye."

"See ya. And thanks, Ken!" Izzy called after him as he left.

"No problem."

I'm still a little uncomfortable around Ken, but I guess I'm getting better at it. I gave him a wave as well as he walked out of the door before I turned my attention back to Upamon.

"Come on, Upamon. Mom's making macaroni and cheese tonight for dinner," I told him.

"Oh boy! I love mac and cheese!" Upamon told me, bouncing merrily up and down.

I smiled as I picked him up. Saying goodbye to my friends, I left as well.

I still wonder what became of Koushiro, Hikari, and their Digimon. Kari told me later that she and Hikari had swapped knowledge during the brief time they'd talked. It's a pretty interesting story that I'm sure you'd like to hear sometime. Maybe you should ask her at some point.

I hope they made it home okay and were able to defeat Piedmon.

Oh, wait. If the Digidestined of our universe could defeat that evil clown, I'm positive that the Digidestined of another could defeat him as well.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: giggles Did you enjoy that, Kyra? I think I mangled poor Cody, and I hope did his POV okay. ^^ Anyway, this special edition of "A Different Reality" is finished at last! Homework, high school, writer's block, and just plain laziness are a deadly mix. @.@ Wow…this fic's as old as I am! ^^

Kudos to…

Kyra – I drove you absolutely up the wall and enjoyed every minute of it! This is for you, my friend! J

Vyse (formerly known as "Her Royal Weirdness") – Nice name change, but I miss callin' you "HRW" sometimes. Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble and keeping this a secret!!! :::grins as Kyra fumes:::

Kelly Moon – :::bows::: Thanks for bein' a cool friend, Kelly! You are awesome!

Aquarius – You are one cool person! Thanks for everything! J

My muse Izzy – Man, you really pull me out of a hole when you want to! Not to mention get me off my lazy butt to work. Thanks, Izzy! J

Shameless Promos…

[gensou no haato][1] – Vyse's new webpage! Spiffy new look and everything! Just plain cool! J

[Power of Knowledge][2] – Splash page to "The Crest of Knowledge" (an Izzy shrine) and "Heir to Knowledge" (a Cody shrine)! Both shrines need to be updated though! So be nice and send some stuff to Kelly-chan! J

[Aquarius' Kawaii Domain][3] – Small, but (hopefully) growing! It's Aquarius' homepage! I shimmer with pleasaure! J

[Spam: Reality With a Twist][4] – My sister's new webpage! Huzzah! It will contain several different types of shrines including a Izzy and Matt shrine called "Y2K" and also include _all_ of my fanfics thus far! Be nice and visit! J

   [1]: http://douseiai.topcities.com/flatland.html
   [2]: http://powerofknowledge.homestead.com/
   [3]: http://aquarius35.homestead.com/home.html
   [4]: http://www.geocities.com/spam_sama/index.htm



	19. A Different Reality Part 17

A Different Reality Part 17

By Cybra

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A/N: sighs Sadly, this series is nearing its end. However, if you're lucky, I may do a sequel series! After all, I'm going to leave it open for one, but with fewer characters used! (Writing for multiple human and Digimon characters is a major pain in the butt!) Still, there are one or two parts left until the long-awaited end to this series! Enjoy!

****

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my attempts to bribe the owners of Digimon have failed. Bummer, yes? Anyway, the show and characters don't belong to me, but this warped little idea is _mine!_

My name is Matt Ishida, and we Digidestined are in _real_ trouble now!

We'd finally arrived at the peak of Spiral Mountain and had begun to face off against Piedmon once again when we discovered this guy had an ace up his sleeve.

He can turn our friends into _keychains!_

I swear I am _not_ making this up!

So far, Vulpesmon, Wargreymon, Mimi, and Joe have fallen to this evil spell.

"Oh, no! Tai!" Sora shouted.

Correction: Vulpesmon, Wargreymon, Mimi, Joe, and _Tai_ have become keychains.

"Metal Garurumon, nail that clown!" I shouted.

"I'm trying, Matt!" my Digimon partner shouted back.

Meanwhile, attacks kept being exchanged. We were running low on energy. One by one we were turning into keychains.

Unlike Tai, I know when to fall back.

"Retreat!" I ordered. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Clown Trick!"

The ground in front of Sora exploded. She screamed as she began to fall forward. Garudamon swooped low to catch her.

However, Piedmon used this to his advantage.

A white sheet flew over the pair of them. All that remained of Sora and Garudamon was a pair of keychains.

Seven down; only six of us left.

At the rate we were going, the Digital World was doomed.

"We can do this, Matt!" TK shouted to me bravely. Underneath his shirt, his Crest of Hope glowed once more.

"Angemon digivolve to…MagnaAngemon!"

"All right!" my little brother shouted.

"C'mon, TK!" I ordered, grabbing his wrist and motioning for the others to follow us.

Gomamon was lagging behind, his little flippers unable to allow him to run very fast. Palmon – now de-digivolved from Lillymon – turned and saw a white cloth heading towards him.

"Gomamon, look out!" she shouted, releasing her "Poison Ivy" attack in an attempt to grab him.

Too little too late. Gomamon was transformed into a keychain in seconds, joining Joe and the others on Piedmon's belt.

"How amusing! One by one you all fall!" Piedmon laughed. "Keep running, children! I'll catch up to you sooner or later!"

"I don't think so! Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Trump Swords!"

The two attacks met in-between the two Megas. However, in the clearing dust, I saw a white cloth heading towards Metal Garurumon.

"Metal Garurumon, look out!" I shouted.

Too late! My best friend disappeared under the cloth. I heard him snarl in frustration before I saw a small – almost cute – keychain of Metal Garurumon appear.

"No…" I whispered, horrified.

There was nothing left now. All we had was an Ultimate, a Rookie, and two humans left. Our two Megas were gone, and our other friends were gone. There was no way we'd make it out of this one alive.

We'd failed.

Miserably.

"MagnaAngemon can do it!" TK told me, but even _his_ voice quivered.

No, MagnaAngemon _couldn't_ do it. At least, not alone. He was only an Ultimate versus a very powerful Mega. Palmon was practically _useless_ in this situation. Without Mimi, she couldn't digivolve.

__

'It's over,' I realized. _'In a matter of moments, there'll be nothing of us left.'_

One thing I've learned in the Digiworld is this:

When you think it's over and there's no hope left…

…something is liable to pop up which gives you hope.

A loud, crisp _bang_ and Piedmon's cry of pain alerted me to the Calvary's arrival.

I turned to see Koushiro standing on a rock.

"Sorry I'm late, Yamato," he apologized. "Unavoidable delay."

Piedmon snarled as he yelled, "How many times do I have to get rid of you before you **_stay_** gone?!"

Koushiro shrugged as he aimed once more. "Let go of the keychains, Piedmon, and surrender."

"Ha! Like _you_ can stop me!"

Kabuterimon's voice shouted, "Not alone he can't! Electro Shocker!"

The attack _nailed_ him from behind! TK and I cheered as the powerful Mega stumbled from the unexpected blow.

I noticed a small figure run forward quickly and swipe the keychains before running in our direction.

"Kari!" I shouted in surprise.

"Why you little – !!!" Piedmon began.

"Celestial Arrow!"

The familiar attack cut Piedmon off before he could attack or run forward to grab Kari. Angewomon appeared to fly down from Heaven as she swooped in.

"Hello, MagnaAngemon!" she greeted, zooming past him.

MagnaAngemon (thankfully) recovered his wits and began to press the attack. Palmon was shouting encouragement towards Piedmon's attackers.

Kari reached me and panted. I couldn't help but notice the knife tied around her waist.

"Where did you get – ?!" I began.

"Never mind! Listen, Koushiro and I know that MagnaAngemon's 'Magna Antidote' technique can reverse Piedmon's attack on the others. It'll change them back into real people again."

A vine from a Blossomon came towards us. Obviously, Piedmon had not been stupid enough to believe he could fight us off alone.

Much to my total surprise, the knife was in Kari's hand before I could blink. She sliced into the vine, causing the evil Digimon to cry out in pain.

Tai would've been _so proud_ of her!

I took the opportunity to punch another vine from the malicious, oversized flower in order to deflect its attack. Blossomon obviously didn't like how this was working out.

Hope soared within me.

We just might win this fight after all!

TK hung back when I ordered him to, Palmon protecting him as best as she could.

"Kabuterimon, digivolve!" Koushiro shouted.

"Kabuterimon digivolve to…Megakabuterimon!"

Megakabuterimon rushed Blossomon at the same time Angewomon and MagnaAngemon continued attacking Piedmon. Blossomon attempted to fight off Megakabuterimon, but the large bug didn't even flinch. I guess Megakabuterimon was more experienced than Blossomon. That was a switch from the usual.

"Horn Buster!"

Within seconds, there was nothing left of Blossomon. I finally came to a snap decision.

"Koushiro! Have Megakabuterimon take over for MagnaAngemon for a few minutes!" I shouted.

The redhead nodded curtly as he continued to fire at Piedmon. He gave a sharp whistle and nodded towards Piedmon. Megakabuterimon – understanding the signal perfectly – flew towards the other battle.

MagnaAngemon zoomed over to us. I took the keychains from Kari.

"MagnaAngemon, Kari told us that your 'Magna Antidote' can reverse this. Why don't you try it?" I asked.

He nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. I hastily set the keychains on the ground and moved out of the way.

"Magna Antidote!"

Multicolored light streamed from him to the keychains. Then, the keychains began to grow into the normal forms of our friends.

Palmon was _ecstatic._ **"Mimi!"**

"Palmon! You're all right!" Mimi shouted back.

Tai turned to me. "What happened, Matt? I have the sudden urge to carry some keys."

"You all were turned into keychains. Listen, Tai," I hastily told him, cutting him off from speaking, "we need to have Wargreymon, Metal Garurumon, and the others attack immediately!"

He nodded and turned towards the others. Mimi and Joe gripped their Digivices.

"Palmon digivolve to…Togemon!"

"Gomamon digivolve to…Ikkakumon!"

Joe gave the next order. "Digivolve again!"

"Togemon digivolve to…Lillymon!"

"Ikkakumon digivolve to…Zudomon!"

Metal Garurumon and Wargreymon reached Piedmon first.

"This is impossible!" Piedmon shouted. "How did you know?!"

"A friend of ours told us, you stupid clown!" Kari crowed.

"Kari!" Tai shouted in surprise. He did a double take when he finally noticed the knife.

Our Digimon almost cheerfully went into attack formation, surrounding the last Dark Master.

I heard Koushiro's voice shout, "Time to take your final bow, Piedmon!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Terra Force!"

"River of Fire!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

"Gate of Destiny!"

The first seven attacks threw Piedmon back into the Gate of Destiny. The gate closed even as the clown screamed his last scream. Then, the gate vanished into a flurry of data.

Sunlight finally reached the dark peak of Spiral Mountain. I smiled. It was over. It was finally over.

****

And we'd won!

The Digimon didn't de-digivolve right away as a rainbow-colored light appeared in a column before us. I saw Koushiro jump back warily, aiming his gun.

"Relax," I told him, laying a hand on his tense shoulder, "it's only Gennai contacting us."

Gennai's hologram of him and his smiling face appeared immediately. "Hello, kids!"

"Hey, Gennai!" Kari cheerfully greeted.

Man, she seems different when she's in all-out, "I'm gonna kick your butt" mode! I'll probably never look at her the same way again!

"It's nice to see all of you. And it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Koushiro," Gennai told us.

Koushiro merely nodded curtly, standing at what I noticed was military attention. That surprised me.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked. "Anyway, I'm glad that all of you have finally defeated Piedmon, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news."

"What do you mean?" Tai demanded.

"Piedmon may have been the last Dark Master, but the creator of the Dark Masters and all the other evil Digimon whom you have faced is still out there. Before you return home, you must defeat _him_ as well."

Cries of "I don't believe this!" and "Aw, man!" filled the air immediately. Koushiro didn't say a word, but merely exchanged a glance with his partner before turning his attention back to Gennai.

"However, it will not be impossible to face off against him and win," Gennai continued. "The five Digidestined before you were able to handle him, so can you."

"We know that, Gennai," Kari told him. "One of our friends told us that."

"Oh, really? Who was it?"

"The Kari Kamiya from another dimension. Koushiro, Tentomon, Gatomon, and I were transported there for a little while."

"Yes, so that explains the weird power signature. Interesting. Well, good luck to all of you. You'll need it." That said, Gennai's hologram vanished.

I immediately turned to Kari, a smile on my face. "So _that's_ how you knew that the 'Magna Antidote' thing would work!"

She nodded, smiling back. "Yup! That Kari had seen it happen. However, that was the first time Angemon ever digivolved to the Ultimate level. A lot of things are different there, but I'll explain it all later."

As soon as she was finished, Tai swept up his little sister into a hug. "I'm just glad you're okay!"

Kari's gaze turned serious. "If it wasn't for Koushiro and Megakabuterimon, Angewomon and I probably wouldn't be here right now, Tai."

Tai turned towards the silent observer of our joyful reunion. Everyone else in the group grew silent as they turned their attention to Tai and Koushiro.

The shorter Digidestined said not a word to Tai as our leader walked over to him, setting his sister down on the ground.

"You protected her?" he asked.

The redhead shrugged. "She exaggerates slightly. She handled herself very well in a few dangerous situations, but I didn't ditch her if that's what you mean."

"Koushiro gave me the knife and managed to find medicine when I had a relapse of what I now think was the flu, Tai," Kari told her brother.

Wargreymon silently exchanged a look with his partner.

As the tension grew, I feared that a fight might break out. I was starting to like Koushiro. He was weird and slightly disturbed me, but he was an okay guy, I guess.

Tai reached out a hand, smiling. "Thanks. And, I'm sorry that I've been a real jerk to you."

The shorter kid looked at Tai's hand as if expecting Tai to suddenly curl it up into a fist and sock him in the eye. However, he slowly placed his hand in Tai's and shook it. "You're welcome, and apology accepted."

It was fortunate that that little apology was now out of the way as darkness began to descend upon the peak of Spiral Mountain once more and the ground disappeared.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Holy freakin' crap! I just finished Part 16 _and_ Part 17 all in one day! I think I may pass out!

Kudos to…

Kyra – Rock on, girl! You rule! J

Vyse – The Keeper of Spoilers! You never let me down when I want someone to bounce ideas off of! J

Kelly Moon – I _love_ reading mail from you, so e-mail me soon! I really, _really _want to talk to you again! Anyway, thanks for being a cool friend! J

Aquarius – I bow humbly before you! Finish "Insects" soon please! Anyway, thanks for being a good friend, too! J

My muse Izzy – You just had to nail me with inspiration didn't you? Anyway, thanks for putting up with me! J

Shameless Promos…

[gensou no haato][1] – Vyse's page! Huzzah! Fanfics! Couple shrines! I may die from happiness! J

[Power of Knowledge][2] – Izzy and Cody shrines! Now all I need is a Ken shrine from Kelly Moon and then I'll be in Heaven! J

[Aquarius' Kawaii Domain][3] – Aquarius' (small) but (hopefully) growing shrine! Please visit here! J

[Spam: Reality With a Twist][4] – My sister's page! Not much up yet, but make her counter happy and visit! It encourages her to work! J

Musical Inspirations…

The hopeless part of the fight with Piedmon (when the Digidestined were seriously losing) was inspired by "O Fortuna" from Orff's Carmina Burana.

The part of the fight with Piedmon when the Digidestined were winning and won was inspired by "Infernal Dance of King Katschei" from Stravinski's The Firebird Suite. (Awesome suite! A very shortened version was featured in Disney's Fantasia 2000, but the whole thing's on the soundtrack.)

The rest of the fic was inspired by "Sunrise" from Strauss' Thus Spake Zarathustra. (This song is more well known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.)

   [1]: http://douseiai.topcities.com/flatland.html
   [2]: http://powerofknowledge.homestead.com/
   [3]: http://aquarius35.homestead.com/home.html
   [4]: http://www.geocities.com/spam_sama/index.htm



	20. A Different Reality Part 18

A Different Reality Part 18

A Different Reality Part 18

By Cybra

****

A/N: Hey again! As if you couldn't guess, this is the fight with Apocalymon! Well, let's see how well I pull this off, hmm?

****

Disclaimer: to the tune of "Irish Drinking Song" from Whose Line is it Anyway?

Oh…hidy didy didy didy didy didy di!

I don't own Digimon

It's truly a disgrace!

It's obvious I wanted to

Since I have this frown on my face!

I tried to bribe the owners

But they wouldn't let me

Own the show I wanted to

Instead, they threatened to sue me!

Oh…hidy didy didy didy didy didy di!

Oh…hidy didy didy didy di…dy…di…dy…di!

This is Kari again!

Anyway, we were surrounded by darkness. "We" being all of us kids and our Digimon – including Koushiro and Megakabuterimon.

I rubbed my right arm with my left hand. It was getting colder by the minute.

__

'So this is what the chill of evil feels like,' I idly thought.

Angewomon leaned forward towards me. "I'll protect you, Kari. Don't worry."

I smiled at her, but I still felt cold.

All this darkness…

Where was the light?

There wasn't a real ground here. There wasn't a real sky here, either. Still, I felt like I was standing on _something._

"I don't think we're in the Digiworld anymore…" Lillymon stated, her voice interrupting the silence around us.

"If we are," Joe began, "this has to be the creepiest part of the Digiworld **ever."**

I quickly reviewed in my mind what the other Kari had told me.

In case you were wondering, Koushiro, Gatomon, Tentomon, and I had traveled into an alternate dimension not too long before the final battle with Piedmon. There, we met another team of Digidestined with versions of TK and myself four years older than we are now. That Kari told us all that had happened in her fight with the Dark Masters and had started to tell us about the fight that they had had four years before with some Digimon called "Apocolymon". However, we were interrupted by a Digimon attack and also by the chance for my group to get back to our version of the Digiworld.

Now, we were about to face this same Digimon.

"Guys, the last thing the other Kari told me was that after they were deleted, they used the Crests inside of them to allow their partners to Digivolve. But she never told me how that worked," I told the others.

Tai put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Kari. It's a start. That's more than Gennai told us."

"I think he assumed the other Kari told me everything."

My big brother slapped a hand to his forehead. "This is what we get for him assuming things."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I had to laugh. I can't explain exactly why, but the way Tai said it struck me as funny.

"Company's coming," Vulpesmon said, growling.

We saw this large 3D hexagon-thing flying towards us. It looked like some kind of puzzle. Then, different ends came out of the "puzzle" and so did a Digimon. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from screaming.

Tai told me later that Apocalymon reminded him of Devimon with red and blue wires coming out of him into the cube-like thing. On his head was a sort of shield with that weird writing written on it, covering red eyes and white hair. His arms most likely almost reached the entire length of his body. His body was black, and his legs were missing where his body went into the thing he had come out of.

"That thing's Apocalymon?" Matt asked.

"That's right!" Apocalymon told us. "Prepare to die, Digidestined!"

"Yeah, right!" Wargreymon shouted. "Let's get this guy!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Terra Force!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"River of Fire!"

The Digimon took off into the air or ran along the "ground", many of us shouting encouragement. Koushiro didn't make a sound and checked his weapon to see if it was loaded. I told Angewomon to kick the guy's data so bad that he'd _never_ be reborn…which really freaked out Tai.

According to the other Kari, Apocalymon was made from the sorrow of Digimon who didn't survive the process of digivolving. It was hard to think that all that sadness could create something so terrible.

Metallic claws came out of other ends of the weird box and reached for our Digimon. One of them changed into a familiar shape.

"Machinedramon!" Joe shouted.

"Excellent! You remember your former enemy!" the evil Digimon taunted. "Giga Cannon!"

The attack hit Megakabuterimon dead center. The large bug fell back, but – after a few moments – flew forward once more. I noticed that Koushiro's left fist had clenched when the attack had hit its mark, then unclenched when Megakabuterimon recovered.

Another claw morphed into a completely black version of Myotismon.

"Crimson Lightning!"

Angewomon and Lillymon yelped as they flew out of the way.

"I tire of this little game," Apocolymon laughed.

Suddenly, claws gripped our Digimon. Within a few moments, the Digimon glowed then seemed to vanish. The claws opened to show that our Digimon had returned to their normal forms.

"Gatomon!" I shouted.

"Kari, stay back!" she shouted back, glaring at Apocalymon.

I obeyed as Tai ordered, "Everybody, re-digivolve! Vulpesmon, try to hold him back for a few minutes!"

Vulpesmon gave a curt nod to show he'd heard.

"River of Fire!"

Try as he might Vulpesmon couldn't keep all the claws from coming towards us. The claws were reaching for us kids…

…No. He wasn't going for _us._ He was going for the _Crests!_

"Everyone!" Koushiro shouted. "Be careful! Apocalymon's going for the Crests! Don't let him get his claws on them, or the Crests will be destroyed!"

"Not a nice thing for him to do, now is it?" Mimi asked.

Sora leaped to the left, barely being missed by a claw. Apparently, all that time being in the Digital World and playing soccer before that had not been wasted.

"Pepper Breath!"

Agumon's attack barely knocked an attack away from Mimi as Joe pulled her out of the way. She looked up gratefully at Joe.

"C'mon, everybody! Re-digivolve!" Tai ordered.

"We can't, Tai!" Agumon shouted. "We're too tired!"

Oh no…

"Not only did he force us to de-digivolve, but he drained our power," Gabumon added before shooting an attack in the direction of another metallic claw.

This wasn't happening! This _couldn't_ happen!

…I wouldn't _let_ it happen!

Sora's awed voice brought me back to the present. "Kari…Your Crest…"

I looked down to see it glowing with a bright light. I was also glowing from the Crest's power.

"Of course," Koushiro murmured. "Your Crest is the Crest of Light. Darkness doesn't have a chance as long as Light's around." He studied me for another second, seeming to tune out the battle behind him. "However, it seems to be coming from inside of you as well."

If I had smiled any wider, I imagine my face would've split in half. _This_ must've been like what the other Kari had tried to tell me. Not only was the power coming from my Crest, it was coming from _me_ as well.

My light spread to the Digimon, strengthening them as their attacks became more and more effective. That's when the others' Crests began to glow while they did at the same time. Just like with me, the power wasn't coming just from their Crests, it was coming from them as well.

Gatomon grinned as she balled her paws up into fists. "Let's kick this guy's tail!"

"Agumon warp digivolve to…Wargreymon!"

"Gabumon warp digivolve to…Metal Garurumon!"

"Palmon digivolve to…Togemon!"

"Togemon digivolve to…Lillymon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to…Angewomon!"

"Patamon digivolve to…Angemon!"

"Angemon digivolve to…MagnaAngemon!"

"Gomamon digivolve to…Ikkakumon!"

"Ikkakumon digivolve to…Zudomon!"

"Tentomon digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"

"Kabuterimon digivolve to…Megakabuterimon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to…Birdramon!"

"Birdramon digivolve to…Garudamon!"

Metal Garurumon's eyes glinted, showing a smile. "Now, let's get up close and personal with this guy!"

MagnaAngemon and Angewomon scooped TK and I up into their arms, then leveled off and shifted us onto their backs. Joe, Koushiro, Sora, Tai, and Matt rode on their partners' backs. Lillymon held onto Mimi by the wrist.

"Heaven's Charm!"

"River of Fire!"

Angewomon and Vulpesmon's attacks took out two of the claws while MagnaAngemon used his sword to destroy another two. Sora leaped from Garudamon's back to Megakabuterimon's so Garudamon could attack.

"Wing Blade!"

The fiery bird destroyed another two claws as Sora hopped back onto Garudamon. Megakabuterimon lined up a shot.

"Horn Buster!"

Things were going fantastic! We were coming closer and closer to Apocalymon. His eyes widened in fear as he prepared to attack us once more.

"Think again! Vulcan's Hammer!"

The claw that had started to morph into a different shape was immediately destroyed. Lillymon threw Mimi over to Zudomon.

"Here! You take care of her! It's hard to attack when one of my hands is full!"

"Got it!"

"Flower Cannon!"

At the same time, Joe caught Mimi.

"Thanks, Joe. My hero!" Mimi exclaimed, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Joe just blushed.

Lillymon's attack took out another one of the claws. Meanwhile, Matt and Tai had almost reached Apocalymon.

"This is such a rush!" Tai exclaimed.

I laughed at my brother's enthusiasm, but it was contagious. Now I understood why Tai loved action. The adrenaline rush is _incredible!_

Megakabuterimon fired off another attack that took out the claw that both Metal Garurumon and Wargreymon dodged. That's when our two Megas were close enough to see the whites of Apocalymon's eyes.

"Now!" Tai and Matt shouted simultaneously.

"Terra Force!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

Our enemy screamed in anguish and retreated back into the box. The thing went spinning away as we all cheered.

Our cheering was cut short when Apocalymon told us. "You have not defeated me! Now it's time to show off my ultimate attack: Total Annihilation!"

The box began to glow.

"It's gonna explode!" Vulpesmon shouted.

"No!" Tai shouted. "You cheater! We won fair and square!"

"Square" was almost right. "Cube" would've been more accurate. At that moment, light beams shone out of our Digivices and surrounded the box to form a cube. The cube spun out of our sight until we saw the flash of the light of a contained explosion.

"We did it…" I gasped. Then, I smiled. "We did it!"

The darkness retreated, leaving us near Primary Village – the place where all Digimon are reborn. All around us, digieggs began to fall from the sky.

"Hello, kids," Gennai told us, walking towards us.

"Gennai! What's going on?!" Tai demanded.

"The Digital World is fixing itself even as we speak. Digimon that were lost are finally being reborn once more."

"You mean," Gatomon began, "even Wizardmon?"

"Yes. Even Wizardmon shall return in time."

Gatomon flipped backwards, extremely excited. I laughed happily beside her.

"We need a picture of this," Mimi said. "If only we had a camera."

Koushiro offered in his normal cold tone of voice, "I have one."

Within a few moments, we were all standing in front of the camera. Gennai sat on Vulpesmon's back as Tai and Agumon stood beside him, Gatomon and I in front of those two. On Gennai's other side was Matt and Gabumon, Patamon and TK standing in front of them. Tentomon and Koushiro stood beside Gatomon and I. Mimi and Sora stood next to TK with their partners, Joe and Gomamon standing next to Mimi and Palmon.

After thirty seconds, the picture had been taken. As we began to chat, Vulpesmon began to leave.

"Vulpesmon, where are you going?" Biyomon asked.

"I have to go back to Piximon. It's been a pleasure," he told us sincerely.

He gave each of us kids a friendly nuzzle before he disappeared into the forest, probably never to be seen again.

"I vote that we stay here until summer vacation's over with!" Matt exclaimed, lying on his back next to the lake.

We were at the lake the others had spent their first night in the Digital World at. It was a nice quiet spot.

"Let's see…judging from how long real time is compared to digi-time – one Earth minute equals one digi-day – and we have two weeks of summer vacation _left…"_ Joe began doing the computations in his head.

Koushiro asked, "One Earth minute is how long a digital day lasts?"

"Yup! You didn't know that?" TK asked.

Koushiro remained silent.

Joe finished his math as he concluded, "It's a little over one hundred years of summer vacation!"

"All right!" Tai shouted.

I turned to see Koushiro staring up into the sky. He wasn't looking _directly_ at whatever he was looking at. I glanced up to see a solar eclipse taking place.

"Actually, you're a little off, Joe," Gennai told us. "During the fight with Apocalymon, time between the Digiworld and your world became synchronized."

"Well, then we still have two weeks," Sora stated. "That's a lot of time."

"Unfortunately, you only have two hours." Gennai pointed to the sky. "That eclipse is the gate between the Digital World and Earth. When the eclipse is finished, the gate will be closed."

"So what?" Matt asked. "We can just wait until the gate opens up again."

"I'm afraid not. Once the gate is closed, it cannot be opened again. It's time you all said your goodbyes." Koushiro opened his mouth to speak, but Gennai cut him off. "Including you, Koushiro. You're returning to Earth as well. You'll finally be going home."

"But I – "

Moans from the others covered up the rest of his statement. I gazed sadly down at Gatomon and she looked back up at me.

I didn't want to say "goodbye", but now it was time I had to.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Cliff-hanger! Well, not really. Anyway, two more parts, people, then it's over. I decided I'd stop at a nice round twenty parts. Maybe – if people beg enough – I'll make a sequel series! (Yeah, right. Like that'll happen.)

Kudos to…

Kyra – Where are you?! sniff I wrote Part 16 just for you, and you don't even bother to review!!! sobbing, then stops Well, I forgive ya! Hope you liked it, and thanks for being a cool person!

Vyse – Man, you're good. Even if you're retired from the Digi-biz, you're still good. Anyway, I'm glad I get to RP with ya and just talk with ya! Peace! J 

Aquarius – Okay, finish that new fic of yours plus "The Chosen", and you will make Cybra a very happy writer! J Anyway, thanks for being…yourself! ^^;;;

Kelly Moon – I miss you! sniff Anyway, thanks for the e-mails! coughwheneveryousendthemcough ^^

My muse Izzy – This lazy-butt writer doesn't deserve such a great muse. However, thanks for your help, man!

Shameless promos (you know you love them!)…

[gensou no haato][1] – Bum, bum bum! It's Vyse-chan's site! Huzzah!

[Aquarius' Kawaii Domain][2] – Aquarius' itty bitty shrine, but it may grow someday! J It's still good, though!

[Power of Knowledge][3] – Kelly Moon's sites! One's an Izzy shrine and the other's a Cody shrine! Encourage her to update! I can't do it alone! J 

[Spam: Reality With a Twist][4] – My older sibling's site! Even though she's moved, read the "I've moved" page! It's funny!

Coming soon: I Corp – Sugoi! My own homepage! Plus, it's a Ken and Izzy shrine! Now all I need is more content!!! ^^;;;

Musical Inspirations…

The background music from Digimon. Have you guys ever listened to it while they were fighting and stuff? It's really awesome! That orchestra did a fantastic job!

   [1]: http://douseiai.topcities.com/flatland.html
   [2]: http://aquarius35.homestead.com/home.html
   [3]: http://powerofknowledge.homestead.com/
   [4]: http://www.geocities.com/spam_sama/index.htm



	21. 

A Different Reality Part 19

A Different Reality Part 19

By Cybra

****

A/N: sigh It's almost over…:::ignores the cheering coming from readers::: Well, here we go again.

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but this twisted up version is of my own creation! evil laughter

I am Koushiro.

I also am leaving the only home I've had for quite some time.

I did the calculations in my head after Joe said that one Earth minute equaled a digi-day. That means that I'd only escaped Hell on Earth for a grand total of four days.

I haven't felt this depressed since after my parents died.

"Koushiro, are you all right?" Tentomon asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt my thoughts.

For the first time in a long time, I answered, "No."

If Tento had eyelids, I'm sure he would've blinked. I usually tell whoever asks me that question "yes" whether I'm all right or not. Today, I didn't see a point to it.

I was walking a little with Tentomon. I'd seen the good-byes the others had participated in. Taichi – despite what I had originally thought he would do – had gotten teary-eyed before he and Agumon had one last laugh together. Jyou and Gomamon had another goodbye that had started off sad, but ended with them smiling. Sora and Biyomon had sat in a tree talking about how Sora's view of her mother had changed as they said goodbye. Yamato and Gabumon didn't really say anything, but Yamato played his harmonica for Gabumon one last time. Mimi and Palmon had been in tears – the same with Takeru and Patamon. Kari gave Gatomon her whistle and told the feline that she'd see her next time. (I guess she's anticipating when she'll return with new Digidestined, like the Kari from the other timeline obviously had.)

As for me, I was still trying to pull myself out of denial.

The Digital World had been the only place I could really call "home" for four Earth years. Whenever I try to remember the home I'd had before, my mind comes up blank. Did I have friends back then? What had been my favorite foods? All of these questions had no answers, and that scared me.

No. It didn't scare me.

It terrified me.

I suddenly sat down on a rock, surprising my digital partner. He landed beside me, not saying a word.

"I can't go," I whispered.

"Why not? You'll be going home," Tentomon stated, looking as sad as I felt.

I kicked an innocent rock away from me. "The Digiworld is my home, Tento. Not Earth."

Why did I tell him that? I still can't figure it out. He didn't need my problems. After all, they **were** my problems, not his.

My partner didn't say anything, knowing I had a lot on my mind.

Why? Why did I have to leave the only place where I felt at home?! This was **my** home!

Only now, I was going back to the place of my four years of torture.

As I fought to remember what it had been like to have a loving family, my mind continued to come up blank. I couldn't even remember my mother's face anymore…

I began to shake. In another four years of that torture, would I remember what the Digiworld was like? Would I remember what Tentomon looked like or the sound of his voice? Or would I be left with another memory gap?

My shaking continued, causing Tentomon to become worried about me.

"Koushiro?"

"I can't…I can't go back…" I whispered fiercely.

A new voice called out to me. It belonged to Taichi Kamiya. "Koushiro, are you okay?"

I turned to face him and saw his sister and Yamato standing there, their Digimon partners by their sides. I gave them a curt nod, my voice was sure to betray me.

Taichi's eyes softened. "Then why are you crying?"

My eyes widened as I reached up to touch my cheek. Something wet had left a smooth trail there. A droplet of water slid down my cheek, touching my hand. Tears…

Hastily, I wiped them away. I would not allow myself to give into tears. I had to be strong, immaculate, the perfect soldier. That was my lot in life. I had no use for these emotions.

"Koushiro…?" Kari asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"I wish to be left alone," I stated, my voice growing colder than normal. It surprised me. I never talked to anyone in that tone of voice anymore.

The Fates must plot against me since they did not leave. I stood and turned my back on them, finding the view suddenly a lot more interesting. If I was going to be ripped away from my home, then I might as well get one last good look at it.

I had escaped Hell, but now I was going back.

That's when my mind slipped back to a memory the last of my attempts to escape from about three years ago.

~@~

I'd planned my escape weeks ago. I'd waited for weeks for the right moment…

…but it didn't matter.

I was still caught.

I backed up against a wall, not wanting anyone to get behind me. That way, I had one less side to keep an eye on.

Commander Yosho marched towards me, another instructor on each side of him. His eyes burned with anger. "Izumi, how many times do I have to tell you?!" he roared. "Escape is impossible!"

I glared defiantly at him. I knew what he was going to do, but I wouldn't show the terror I felt. I didn't dare. If he saw my fear, he'd punish me more severely. However, I also clung to those rebellious and stubborn streaks I'd developed from having to survive here.

With one mighty hand, he backhanded me across the face. My head snapped to the left as I offered no resistance to the hit. He could've broken my neck if I had.

"This will teach you never to attempt escape again!" he snarled, the instructors at his sides backing up a step simultaneously.

Uh oh.

If _they_ were scared, that meant only one thing:

Commander Yosho had been drinking recently.

Occasionally, the military officers and instructors will get together for sociable drinks. Commander Yosho always drank the most, and if he got mad, look out.

I was toast.

Now that he was closer to me, my nose picked up the nauseating stench of alcohol on his breath more easily. He grabbed me with one hand by the shoulder, holding me still. Not that he would've had to do that. I was frozen by terror.

There was a loud _crack_ as his fist connected with my face. My head snapped back and hit the wall behind me. Stars formed in my vision as I lifted my hands to my face, a small whimper of pain escaping my lips.

A brutal attack on my right side alerted me that the punishment was far from over. I could hear another few _cracks_ as either his fist or his foot connected with my right side. I fell to the ground, but he picked me back up.

"There. Is. **No** escape!" Commander Yosho snarled, throwing me back into the wall.

I finally let out a scream of pain. Through blurred vision, I could see soldiers gathering other trainees around. I was being used as an example.

A vicious kick in the stomach brought me to my knees. A knee in the chin snapped my head back into the wall once more. All the while, I continued screaming. The pain was so intense…

Then, the attacks stopped. I dared to lift my gaze up from the floor to try to see my superior officer's face. My vision was fuzzy. His hard eyes glared down at me. I moaned. It wasn't over yet.

He picked me up and easily tossed me over his shoulder. I hit the ground with a _thump_ and rolled in an attempt to ease the pain. My body screamed in protest and demanded I at least _try_ to fight back. I obeyed my body's wishes. If he was going to punish me this severely, I might as well get a few licks in myself.

When he threw a punch at me, I ducked under it, throwing him off-balance. At the same time, I twisted my bruised body to step out of the way of my falling superior. He hit the floor with a pronounced _thud_ before he turned and looked at me.

A fellow trainee gasped. _Nobody_ had had the guts to try to fight back from a punishment.

However, my supposed courage would most likely get me killed.

If I died, that was fine with me.

I'd do anything to escape.

Commander Yosho gave a feral cry as he launched himself at me. I was smaller, but he was better trained. He didn't fall for the same trick twice. He grabbed me by the neck and began to squeeze.

I struggled in his grip as my supply of oxygen stopped flowing into my lungs. I gripped his hands with my own smaller hands in a vain attempt to get him to release. I gagged, trying to take in precious air.

This was it. I was finally going to die.

Just when darkness began to fill my vision, I felt myself being thrown back into the wall once more. The pain of my already beaten body hitting the hard surface snapped me back to full consciousness.

No, no, **no!**

I had almost died! Why hadn't he finished the job?!

I weakly tried to lift myself to my feet. Another kick in my right side made me fall to the floor once again, the pain too great. I coughed, and blood landed on the ground in front of my mouth.

He'd broken a few ribs with that first hit in the side. I could **really** feel that now.

Trainees gasped in horror. None of them had seen such brutality. They'd seen punishments before – they'd even **had** been punished before since everyone was punished at some point – but none as vicious as the one they witnessed now.

Commander Yosho paused once again, letting the pain seep through my battered body. I didn't move. I couldn't move. What was the point? Besides, my body was refusing to obey my brain's commands to stand.

"There is no escape from this facility!" Commander Yosho's voice boomed from somewhere above me. I couldn't see him clearly. "If any attempts are made, there will be **harsh** consequences. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" the trainees answered crisply.

"Get back to your training! Dismissed!"

The other trainees hurried away, leaving Commander Yosho, a few instructors, and myself alone.

The commander merely looked downwards, glaring at me. "I hope you remember this little lesson, Izumi. I see promise in you, but I **won't** hesitate to severely injure you when you disobey! Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir," I weakly whispered, my voice cracking from the pain.

"Good. Seeing as you will be unable to attend training for today, you are dismissed to your quarters. Report to training at the usual time tomorrow. Dismissed!"

His large form left my vision. I moaned slightly as I tried to rise, but failed miserably. My injured body couldn't take much more. I coughed, and more blood decorated the floor in front of my mouth.

The instructors that were still there exchanged glances, then turned to leave. One of them – a woman from what I could tell by her voice – remained.

She told me, "I suggest that you lose that rebellious streak, Izumi, or next time, you may lose your life."

She turned away, leaving me behind.

I could not go to the medical facility on this hidden base. Whenever a trainee was punished, he or she had to take care of his or her own wounds. The doctors would not dress the wounds from a punishment.

I lay there for I don't know how long. I could've been lying there for seconds, minutes, or hours, but I didn't really know. I would cough up more blood, but I didn't care. I really didn't care.

I wanted to die more than anything, but my body still clung to life. Hopelessness settled upon my body. I would never escape Hell.

That was the day my will to return to the life I had had before this Hell had been broken.

~@~

"Koushiro?"

Kari's quiet, almost timid voice brought me out of my memory. I was shivering as if in a cold wind.

No! It wouldn't get to me! I was to be a perfect soldier! I was supposed to be immaculate!

__

'Yes, and that place you're going back to tried to shape you that way,' part of my mind sneered.

I kept my eyes turned away from my "friends". Tentomon buzzed worriedly beside me, but did not say a word.

I didn't answer Kari. Rude, I know. Still, I did not trust my voice. It would reveal the pain.

My God, all that training had started coming undone. This world had affected me more than I'd originally thought.

"I will meet up with the rest of you at the trolley car in fifteen minutes," I told them at last.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kari open her mouth to protest, but Gatomon shook her head. Yamato and Taichi led the girl away along with their Digimon.

I sat down on the grass. There was no use getting around it. I was going back to the base and that was that. I might as well bid farewell to the only friend I'd had since Jake.

"I'll miss you, Tento," I told him honestly. "You're the closest friend and only family I've had for a long, long time."

"I'll miss you, too, Koushiro," Tentomon answered, trying to hide his sniffling. "You're the best friend I've ever had. Hopefully, I'll see you again someday."

__

'No, you won't,' I thought. _'I probably won't even remember you very well.'_ However, instead of saying these dark thoughts aloud, I stated, "Maybe."

Silence reigned supreme as we sat on the grass together one last time. Everything that could be said had been said. Nothing else **could** be said.

After a few moments of silence, Tento's talons/arms wrapped around me. I stiffened as he gave me a hug. It felt…nice.

That's when I realized that for the first time in a long time, there would be somebody to miss me when I was gone. There was somebody who cared about me. I bit my lower lip as unshed tears began to sting my eyes. Then, to my utter surprise, I wrapped my arms around Tento, hugging him back. Tentomon was as shocked as I was, but seemed happy that I returned his hug.

Something wet hit my shirt. I noticed tears flowing out of my best friend's big green eyes. He was crying. For **me.**

"I'm sorry…" he sniffled. "I shouldn't…"

"It's alright…" I murmured, my voice cracking with violently suppressed emotion. "I'll miss you, too…"

~@~

We remained like that for a few more minutes before we began to walk towards the others. I hastily wiped a few stray tears that had escaped my tight control before we reached the group. Gatomon was giving Kari one last hug goodbye, Kari's whistle hanging around her neck. I then remembered the locket I had told Kari to hold onto, but spotted it in plain view, hanging around her own neck with the Crest of Light hanging proudly next to it.

We children boarded the trolley car. Yamato and Taichi opened two adjacent windows.

Taichi's voice was slightly choked as he asked, "Well, guys, what can we say?"

"Try 'goodbye'," Agumon suggested, his voice also slightly choked.

With that, the trolley came to life and began to move. We waved goodbye to our Digimon partners.

Our partners suddenly began running on the shore to the left of the trolley car. Gatomon waved her paws wildly above her head like Palmon, Agumon, and Gabumon did. Tentomon, Patamon, and Biyomon flew through the air. Gomamon ran along on all fours, an awkward run because of his flippers.

Tentomon suddenly dipped down to Gatomon and seemed to say something to her. She grinned and leaped up into the air. My partner snagged her in midair, then made a beeline in our direction as fast as his wings could take him, compensating for the extra weight.

Kari came over to stand next to me as the two Digimon approached. Gatomon nuzzled her hand one more time as I placed a hand on Tentomon's claw for a moment. A small smile tugged at my lips, but I made sure only he would see it. That smile was my gift to him. Tentomon's eyes lit up at the sight and smiled back at me the only way he could, but I knew that if he'd been human, he'd have been grinning from ear to ear.

The two Digimon flew back to the shore as we began to soar into the sky. All of the Digimon waved goodbye, shouting farewells simultaneously.

We flew into the eclipse itself, the eclipse ending just as we passed through it. The gate to the Digital World was sealed.

I sat back in my seat as we made the journey back to Earth. I had never thought I would see Earth again. Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd catch a glimpse of the outside world before I was taken back to where I'd come from.

I knew that like Satan I had been cast out of Heaven.

__

'Earth, here I come.'

TO BE CONTINUED…

****

A/N: Well, that was…angsty. I think I really tore into Koushiro on that one. I tried thinking of how I would feel if I had been ripped away from Paradise back into someplace I hated. It's not a pleasant feeling, let me assure you. By the way, I did the calculations for how long their summer vacation would've been in the Digital World according to the one minute equals one day thing and they had two Earth weeks of summer vacation left. I came up with the amount of time spent in the Digital World would've been about fifty-five years. Not over a hundred years, but I decided to keep something close to the original number since I didn't want to confuse people. J 

****

Special thanks to…

Kyra (AKA Ascot no Miko) – We haven't talked in a while. I need to hear from you. I miss you, woman! Anyway, thanks for being a friend! coughworkonDestiny'sPathcough ^^;;;

Vyse – Thanks for letting me throw ideas off of you! You're a great friend!

Aquarius – Did you like all that angst, Aqua-chan? J I did my best! I was planning on doing a really angsty part like this!

Kelly Moon (AKA Aphrael) – Dude, you're good. That latest fic of yours blew my mind. Anyway, thanks for chatting it up with me! J 

Kay – I haven't heard much from you, Kay-ster! Where ya been? Anyway, thanks for the occasional strange e-mails!

****

Shameless promos…

[gensou no haato][1] – Tada! Vyse-chan's page! Home to all her various fics! Huzzah!

[Aquarius' Kawaii Domain][2] – Itty-bitty shrine that's owned by Aquarius. Make Aqua-chan's day and visit it! J Huzzah!

[Power of Knowledge][3] – Kelly Moon's splash page to her two shrines: one Izzy shrine and one Cody shrine! Huzzah! She's not going to be updating soon (sadness) but I'm sure we can change her mind… J 

[Spam: Reality With a Twist][4] – Okay, this is my sibling's page, but it's moved to a new site. (She didn't give me the new address…grr!) But her redirect page should still be up (hopefully) and it's funny! Huzzah! J This address could be the site of my Izzy and Ken shrine. coughifIevergetitfinishedcough ^^;;;

****

Musical Inspirations…

When Koushiro was thinking about how he might not remember Tentomon in four years, how he didn't really remember his parents, and his goodbye with Tentomon was inspired by "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. It's a very moving song.

The memory of Koushiro's punishment for trying to escape was inspired by "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" performed by Fuel.

The scene where the Digimon were chasing after the trolley car on the shore was inspired by "Hey Digimon!" from the Digimon the Movie soundtrack and by the episode "The Fate of Two Worlds".

   [1]: http://douseiai.topcities.com/flatland.html
   [2]: http://aquarius35.homestead.com/home.html
   [3]: http://powerofknowledge.homestead.com/
   [4]: http://www.geocities.com/spam_sama/index.htm



	22. A Different Reality Epilogue

A Different Reality Epilogue

A Different Reality Epilogue

By Cybra

****

A/N: And so we come to the end of our story, folks. sobbing This monster of a fic has been my baby for so long! I'm so proud of how this thing turned out! Maybe I'll do a sequel. I'm not sure. I have a few ideas. Well, it began with Tai, and so it shall end with Tai. Sort of like finishing the circle I guess.

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but this little AU was my _own_ idea! The AU is mine! All mine! evil chipmunk laughter

It's Tai again. How's everything going?

Well, we rode the trolley car home, some of us still crying or sniffling over leaving our friends behind. I admit that I was still sniffling a little, but I was also looking forward to seeing my parents again. We all were. The Digiworld is a nice place, but we didn't want to live there forever.

At least…_most _of us didn't.

Koushiro looked as if he were _dreading_ our return to Earth.

This bewildered me.

Why would he not want to go back home?

I could think of a few unpleasant reasons.

Abuse was foremost in my mind.

Had one or both of his parents abused him?

I studied him a bit more carefully. I couldn't read him that well (I never could), but I could tell that he definitely did not enjoy the idea that we were returning to our world.

"Everybody's waiting for us!" Joe shouted, interrupting the uncomfortable near silence.

I looked out the window to see a _huge_ crowd of people cheering as we flew lower and lower. We would be landing in the exact same area that we had left Earth in that bright, rainbow-colored light. Vaguely, I wondered how Koushiro had arrived in the Digital World. I made a mental note to ask him later.

We landed to the roar of applause and jubilant shouts. As we exited the trolley car, it vanished into a flurry of data, never to be seen again.

Mom and Dad rushed over and grabbed Kari and I. I smiled as I hugged Mom back. I had missed her and Dad so much!

"Dad! Mom!" Kari shouted gleefully just before hugging and kissing Dad. (I couldn't help but notice that her knife – like the trolley car – had vanished.)

Joe's mom and dad – along with his older brother Jim – were just as excited to see him as he was excited to see them. Mimi sobbed joyfully in her parents' arms while Sora hugged her mom so tightly that I thought Mrs. Takenouchi would pass out! TK hugged his mom while Matt gave a quick hug to his dad before Mr. Ishida clapped him on the shoulder.

It took us a few minutes – and Kari was the first to notice – that Koushiro was still standing there alone.

Nobody had rushed to greet him.

Nobody had wrapped their arms lovingly around him and told him that they were happy he was home.

It seemed as if there was not one person that _cared_ he had returned from the Digital World.

Kari wiggled out of Dad's grip and grabbed his hand. She began pulling him in Koushiro's direction. "Dad, I want you to meet someone."

I pulled out of Mom's grip and began pulling her as well. "You, too, Mom."

Our parents looked at each other in surprise but followed us. I guess they knew this was kind of important.

Koushiro turned his attention from the noisy – not to mention _large_ – crowd that surrounded us towards my family. He didn't budge from his spot as we walked up to him.

I smiled amiably at him. I admit that I had been a real jerk to him in the past, and I really wanted to make it up to him.

"Koushiro," Kari began, "these are our parents. Mom, Dad, this is our friend Koushiro."

Dad blinked. "But I thought that there were only seven of you…"

"We thought that, too, but we met him during our fight with Puppetmon, the second Dark Master," I explained. "I guess that makes him number eight." I smiled at Koushiro, causing him to blink. "Koushiro here kept an eye on Kari when she and I were separated. I really owe him."

"You owe me nothing," I heard him mutter, but my parents didn't hear him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Koushiro," Mom said, smiling.

"Yes, it is," Dad agreed. "Thank you for staying with Kari."

"…You're welcome," he said quietly.

He was no longer looking at Mom and Dad.

He was looking at somebody else.

He was looking at a man in a blue suit.

For the first time since I had met him, I could read every emotion in Koushiro's eyes. I saw in them fear, sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness. It seemed like the man he was staring at was the very embodiment of some trap that Koushiro couldn't escape.

"I really must be going," he told us. "It was nice…"

He didn't add "while it lasted", but I knew he would've added it if something I could only guess at hadn't held him back.

His eyes became unreadable once more as he began to walk towards the blue-suited man.

I _didn't_ want him to go.

He had helped us fellow Digidestined out, and now he was going off somewhere where I could tell he didn't even _want_ to go and was most likely going to suffer for the rest of his life?

Not if I had anything to do with it!

"Where ya going?" I asked, grabbing his upper right arm.

He didn't answer me; he was still focused on the blue-suited man.

"Koushiro…" Kari's voice pleaded, drawing both his and my attention to her. "Please don't go."

I turned to Koushiro once more. "If it's okay with Mom and Dad, you can stay with us until your parents find you."

Kari gazed pleadingly at our parents. She silently begged for their permission. I let her do most of that. She can wrap people around her little finger whenever she feels like it, but she doesn't exploit that too often. She thinks it's cheating.

Mom exchanged another look with Dad before smiling and saying, "Of course you can stay with us if you like, Koushiro."

I think this freaked our strange friend out more than anything else we'd said. He nearly gaped at us as if we had just invited him to shoot us. (I noticed that while his satchel had vanished, his backpack with the laptop and gun inside had remained.) "I…can't…"

"Sure ya can!" I told him cheerfully. "You just say, 'Tai, I'd love to stay with you for a while since you're the best friend I ever had!'"

Kari snickered and rolled her eyes at me. I grinned, not one bit remorseful. I had been kidding around about the best friend thing since I hadn't been the greatest friend to him in the past.

"Taichi…I…If they…" he stuttered, beginning sentences but never finishing them.

"Please, Koushiro?" Kari asked. "He's not so bad to live with. You get used to him."

"Hey!" I protested to her playful teasing.

He looked back towards the blue-suited man. The man motioned for Koushiro to come along with him. I glared daggers at the creep and gave him a rude gesture (when my parents weren't looking, of course).

"I…" Koushiro looked at Kari and then me again. "I guess I really don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope," I agreed.

"Then, I would be…honored…to join you, your parents, and Kari, Taichi."

"Tai," I corrected.

"Pardon?"

"If you're calling Kari by _her_ nickname, you can call me by _mine."_

"All right then…Tai…"

Mom smiled and began leading us away, chattering happily about how she was so glad that we had come home.

I happily noticed that Koushiro didn't look back at the blue-suited man once.

~@~

To celebrate, Mom and Dad actually ordered pizza for dinner.

Was I excited?

You bet I was!

"Yahoo! Pepperoni, mushrooms, and sausages! Yes!" I exulted.

Koushiro stared at me uncomprehendingly. I guess he hadn't had pizza in quite some time. After all, he had been in the Digiworld for what must've been several years. So what if they had actually taken only a few days in our world? It had still been a really long time for him. He had probably forgotten what pizza even _looked_ like.

Kari smiled and laughed at me as I danced happily around. It helped keep our minds off of the fact that we had left the best friends we had ever had in another dimension that we could probably never return to.

The pizza arrived fifteen minutes later, and we all sat around the table. Koushiro sat next to Kari and across from me. My parents took their seats at the opposite ends of the table on the sides perpendicular to ours. We each took our first slice.

My family and I quickly began to eat the pizza, but Koushiro seemed to be studying the pizza before he took a cautious bite out of it. I nearly laughed when he jerked in surprise at the taste. It sort of reminded me of Agumon when he had taken his first bite from a candy bar I had offered him. That brought on a bit of sadness that I quickly squashed.

"Don't you like this stuff?" Dad asked our surprised friend between bites.

"I just haven't had pizza since…forever," he admitted.

"Oh. I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you, Mr. Kamiya."

"You're welcome."

Kari managed to talk Koushiro into eating two more pieces before he told her that he couldn't eat another bite. That was fine by me. More for me! Our mom and dad dropped out after their third or fourth pieces, so it left Kari and I to finish up the pizza.

I still haven't figured out how such a small girl like Kari can eat that much pizza!

Well, I'm afraid that now this story must come to an end. It's been real fun, let me tell you. I enjoyed almost every minute of telling you all this. Maybe someone will type this all up for even _more_ people to read it!

But before I go I'd like to say that I noticed something awfully weird.

Koushiro's parents still haven't shown up.

I don't get it. Did they just ditch him or something? Why haven't they come for him?

And why do these blue-suited people keep hanging around?

Koushiro's nervous about something Kari keeps telling me. It's like he's scared, but he can't tell us what's wrong.

Like he's afraid that if he says something, something terrible will happen to us.

Who knows? Maybe we'll find out why he's acting so weird. Someday.

THE END…

****

A/N: …Those last two words were the hardest two words I've had to write in this entire story…I'm sad it's over…sobbing

****

The big "Arigato" section…

Kyra – You don't talk to me much, but I still want to thank you for all the support you've given me in the past! E-mail me sometime! J 

Vyse – You may not write Digimon anymore, but you're still an awesome friend! Thanks for letting me ramble and babble to you! J 

Aquarius – You got me to write "Tentomon's Story" and encouraged me all the way! Thanks for your kind comments! J 

Kelly Moon – You are one cool friend, girl! Thanks for being an awesome friend! J 

**__**

All of the people who have read the "A Different Reality" series with all its tie-ins and sidestories – What can I say? I appreciate all of your reviews, your support, and your occasional rants. (Heck, what better way to keep me writing to have people threatening to kill me if I don't come up with the next part as soon as it's possible for me?) I especially appreciate you loyal readers who read this thing from its beginning to its end. I know it must've been hard for you to stick with it since the writer is both lazy and constantly kept busy, but I'm glad that you stayed with me! I hope that I didn't disappoint you! J 

My muse Izzy – To quote Matt from 01, "You're the man!" I can't thank you enough! I'm glad I grabbed you while I could! I would've been sunk from the beginning if it hadn't been for your constant ideas, advice, and torment! J 

****

Shameless Promos…

[gensou no haato][1] – Welcome to Vyse's page of spiffiness! This includes couple shrines _and_ fanfics! Not just for Digimon, either! Go and show your support of her work! J 

[Power of Knowledge][2] – The link leading to Kelly Moon's infamous Izzy and Cody shrines! Go and encourage her to update! Her pages are both excellent and fine! J 

[Aquarius' Kawaii Domain][3] – See Aquarius' page. See that it needs to be bigger. Find Aquarius. Encourage Aquarius to expand her page to its full awesome potential. J 

[Spam: Reality With a Twist][4] – This link leads to two different pages. One of which is not up on the Internet yet (my own Izzy and Ken shrine "I Corp"), but it should be quite soon! However, my sister's page "Spam Reality With a Twist" is _awesome!_ Go visit her! Her art rocks! J 

****

Musical Inspirations…

"Remembering Petticoat Lane" from the Jurassic Park soundtrack inspired the part where they return to Earth and Tai sees the blue-suited man. It's a very nice song. If you've seen the movie Jurassic Park (the original movie that was _way_ better than its two sequels even though Jurassic Park III was better than I thought it would be), it's the song in the background of when Hammond is talking to Ellie about how he had a flea circus on Petticoat Lane.

"A New Hope" from The Emperor's New Groove soundtrack inspired the part where Koushiro is invited by Tai and Kari to stay at their apartment until his parents come and get him. (In the movie The Emperor's New Groove, it's the background music of when Kuzco meets up with the llamas, eats the grass, and then sees Pacha talking with the llamas.)

"Perfect World" and "Perfect World (Reprise)" from The Emperor's New Groove soundtrack inspired the scene in the Kamiya apartment with the pizza. That's right, the songs sung by Kuzco's theme song guy inspired that stuff. It made me feel pretty good. ^^

****

Final Notes…

  1. How'd I think up this idea?

Would you believe that it was Gundam Wing that helped me come up with this? Sure was! I thought it would be interesting to see what it would be like if one of the characters (Izzy, to be exact) acted like Heero Yuy and had military training. I had been thinking about said idea for a while, but was unable to come up with a plot until I thought, "Why not just re-write the Dark Masters arc?" Thus, this story was born!

  2. Why did I play with the others' personalities (especially Kari's)?

Well, it _is_ an alternate universe. To make some things fit, I realized that some things would need to be changed around on the original characters. Minor things about characters were changed like Joe being a bit braver here than in the actual show during 01 and Tai's overprotectiveness being brought out quite a bit more. I thought it would make an interesting story.

I also noticed that I _especially_ needed to play with Kari's personality. Let's face it, she was a pretty good character originally in 01 but she was at times so sweet that it almost made your teeth rot. So I thought that it would be a good idea if I made her a bit on the rebellious and stubborn side and gave her a few more interesting things to do. The knife thing I thought would be an extremely good idea since it would show just _how_ different she was from the Kari of the actual show. Besides, if I brought out that extremely stubborn streak that she had had in the show but barely shown, it made an even more interesting story. Did it work?

  3. Why the crossover-part with canon 02?

Well, I did that partially as a tribute to my first ever Digi-pal Kyra. I had originally planned on using 02 TK to tell the story, but then thought, "Why not totally drive Kyra insane or cause her to pass out by having _Cody_ tell the story?" Besides, it made it a lot more fun for me to write it from Cody's POV. J 

Also, I had wanted to crossover my version of the Dark Masters arc with the second series of the show at some point. I thought it would be fun _and_ original. (It was! After all, who has ever written a Digimon story that basically had a 01/02 crossover?)

  4. How come I kept inserting couple hints?

I noticed that in practically every anime, there has been a "great romance" somewhere in it. I wanted to write this little – Pfft! Little my sore tailbone! – AU in a style much like it was an actual anime. Besides, I thought it might make a few of you a bit more interested.

The Koukari hints were deliberate. I did them on purpose. I find the idea of Koukari extremely cute and extremely doable. Why? I don't know. I don't give hints on the couples I like normally. If they appeal to me, fine. If they don't, whatever.

The Jyoumi hints…Crud! I don't even _know_ how the heck they kept popping in there! I go back and read some parts after I've written and posted them (or right after I've written them) and I notice that certain scenes can be taken as hints of Joe and Mimi romance. Scary, yes?

  5. Where can you reach me?

Do you have any special comments, questions, or requests for little old me? You can reach me at [cybra2003@yahoo.com][5].

Why the number? Well, Yahoo decided it would be fun to mess with my head. I had signed up as "cybra" under egroups for a few mailing lists, and then egroups changed to Yahoo groups. _Supposedly,_ you were allowed to access your old egroups account under Yahoo, but Yahoo never let me access my egroups account! How annoying!

Later, when I decided that I would have a Yahoo e-mail account in order for people to reach me from my webpage and stuff, I tried to sign up as "cybra", but Yahoo said it was already taken. Well, _duh_ it was already taken! I had taken it! So, I came up with "cybra2003" since "cybra" is (obviously) my penname and "2003" is the year that I graduate from high school.

In case you want to e-mail me later but are like me and are too lazy to go through and find the part containing the e-mail address of somebody, my Yahoo address _is_ posted on my Profiles page. It's been there for the past few months. See if you can find it!

   [1]: http://douseiai.topcities.com/flatland.html
   [2]: http://powerofknowledge.homestead.com/
   [3]: http://aquarius35.homestead.com/home.html
   [4]: http://www.geocities.com/spam_sama/index.htm
   [5]: mailto:cybra2003@yahoo.com



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